Fallen
by Shir0
Summary: AU. Fax. Partial-human. Maximum Ride is a teenager with the unfortunate luck to run into life-threatening situations. With her father, Jeb, moving her all over the States, she finally ends up in San Diego, where she meets her Guardian Angel, Fang.
1. A Change in Venue

**Fallen**

**Chapter One: _A_**_** Change in Venue**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Wakey-wakey, sleepy head," murmured a soft familiar voice from the far side of my room. I groaned in response and flipped my pillow over, rolling onto its unbelievable softness. I really, really, really didn't want to wake up. "Max, it's time to get up. Remember?" I heard hard footsteps, meaning Jeb was walking towards my bed. His fingers resting on my shoulder, tenderly shaking me told me I was right. "We're moving today, honey."

I groaned again and rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling and seeing ol' Jeb through my peripheral vision. "Why can't we s'ay 'n A'lan'a?" I muttered, my voice sounding weak and croaky.

I remembered last night when I was out in an alley, trying to stop a bar fight from happening. Both men were drunk 'tards, and I just so happened to be walking down that sidewalk where it was about to take place.

Me, being a person who heavily disliked fights, just _had _to step in as a 5'7'', 102lbs eighteen year-old girl and get myself roughed up, as well as involved with the police. The cops saw through what happened and knew that I was trying to be "a Good Samaritan" (as Jeb referred to it as), but my body still felt like crap from being thrown around. I was hit hard in the jaw yesterday…yeah, not fun, since it seemed to be screwing up my speech. I faintly recalled one of those idiots running at me with a broken beer bottle and nearly smashing it into my head, but I dunno what had happened. I guess some sort of divine intervention stopped him from doing any real damage. That was probably why we were moving though, right?

Wrong.

Jeb rubbed my head for me, and I was thankful that he was such a loving dad even though I didn't like him much. "Honey, you know why. It's my job," he told me softly. "We have to move to San Diego so that I can continue my research. Otherwise, I'd have to stay here and get a new job, which you know I wouldn't like."

Oh yeah. Jeb's a scientist or whatever. He does research on terminal illnesses, and he's been trying to figure out a way to cure simpler ones, like asthma, with DNA mutations. I think I'd rather live with asthma instead of have something like wings sprouting from my back.

But there were always other reasons for leaving a city.

"_There's more than one way to force someone to turn into a ghost."_

"But Jeb…" I muttered in annoyance, ignoring the memories from flooding forth. "I'm tired. I 'on't wanna ge' up."

"It's already noon, sweetie," he cooed softly, still shaking me. "I want us to be able to make our flight. You can sleep on the plane, I promise."

I rolled out of his grasp and onto the floor, cursing when I slammed my pained body into hard ground. "'Kay," I finally gave in, my aching muscles not responding. "He'p me up?"

He nodded with a lax smile, holding his hand out and pulling me to my feet. "Are you better now?"

I grinned at him toothily as a confirmation and waddled over to my closet to grab my bags. "I'm all se' fer the tri'," I told him, holding up my suitcases and bags and gently setting them back down.

"Are you sure you don't want to see a dentist before we go?" he asked cautiously.

I shivered. I hated people who worked in that type of field. It didn't matter what their profession was – dentistry, medicinal, you name it, I _despised_ it with a passion. "Nuh, I 'on't wanna. It'll hea' on its own," I assured him. Apparently, I was hit square in the jaw, but fortunately it was only bruised. The thing is, even though I feel like more damage was done to my head than any other place, I still recall not being hit by the drunk 'tard's bottle…

I saw Jeb relax his shoulders considerably. If I had said yes to going to the dentist, he probably would have brought me to a psychiatrist. "Okay, let's get going," he murmured, turning away from me and leaving my room.

I looked around and felt my heart pang in sadness. I would be leaving the home I have had for maybe a year – longer than most times I've stayed in a different city. I didn't really like my room very much, but it was so familiar to me that I almost was able to call it home…_my _home.

But not anymore.

Hello, San Diego.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I shifted back and forth in my plane seat, not being able to settle. The butterflies in my stomach kept telling me to jump off the thing and stay in Atlanta, but with my seatbelt secured around my waist, I didn't really see any way I could do that.

Jeb's hand closed over mine. "It'll be okay honey. You'll find friends and people to trust in San Diego. You might end up finding a boy to bring home too," he teased, winking at me.

"'ere's no way 'n Hell I'm goin' t' let tha' 'appen," I muttered. "Boys've nev' int'rested me _ev'r _'n' it's not goin' t' 'appen now… I mea', I'm jus' not 'nto relati'nships, y'know." I never liked relationships like that, nor did I have many friends. I had a few, like Dylan Seymour, Ari Phoenix and Brigit Jones…but otherwise, no luck. Those three I just mentioned weren't even too close to me. I started zoning out about the old Atlanta times, but Jeb interrupted my thoughts.

"Are you lesbi –"

"Jeb!" I scolded, turning away and blushing furiously. "Don't'cha ev'r sugg'st tha' ev'r 'gain!" No. Way. In. _Hell. _Was. I. _Lesbian._ I mean, I liked guys! Yeah, I admit it, I like guys. I just haven't found that specific guy that _really _makes my heart pound against my chest. I wasn't expecting it, but I've yet to find him.

His smile told me he knew exactly how I was feeling, though. "I'm pulling at your leg, honey. I know you're not. Do you remember Sam Avery from your seventh grade?"

"_Jeb!_" I shouted again, this time much louder for oncoming passengers to hear. The blush on my face was renewed, but I wasn't sure if it were because of Jeb or the looks the other travelers gave me. It could have been a mix of both.

Jeb's hand reached up to rub my shoulder. He'd always do that to comfort me when I was feeling down or if life was just shitty at the time. "It's okay. I know you're not into boys right now, but who knows? Maybe you'll find the man that's right for you."

I stuck my tongue out. "Tha' gon' be the day when h'mans grow win's," I replied triumphantly, crossing my arms. Now, you're probably thinking, _Why didn't you just say, 'That'll be the day when pigs fly?' _Firstly, I couldn't speak that well with my jaw screwed up. Second, Jeb actually managed to mutate a pig's DNA to allow it to fly…so…unless Jeb found a way to alter a human's DNA with that of an avian's, I saw no way that a human could have wings.

Jeb laughed and roughly patted my head. "You'll get over your boy troubles, honey. I promise you."

Just as I was going to start arguing, the captain told everyone the procedures and rules on the plane, effectively shutting me up.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

The trip was long and boring since Jeb decided to fall asleep, so I was stuck watching _Despicable Me_, which wasn't such a bad movie. It was really funny, actually. It was just at the part where Gru finally understood the true meaning of love and ended up caring for the girls – what in the _hell _was I turning into?

I sighed and closed my eyes, listening to the voices of the actors as they finally managed to win the damn unicorn. For some reason, I was never able to understand myself, or, more accurately, I was never able to understand people of my age. They were either too immature for me to stoop down to, or they were just annoyingly wise. I was caught in between the two – I considered myself a kid at heart, but I knew the fine line between right and wrong. I always wished that I could have that certain someone that understood me, too, but as it ended up, that probably isn't going to happen.

Man, this plane ride sucked.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Wakey-wakey, sleepy head," I heard Jeb call out, just like this morning. "We're here."

I opened my eyes to see the California sun shining against the horizon of the water. It felt so much more different than in Atlanta, but I knew I was going to like this place. It looked so pwetty and sunny! (Sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm…)

I was so tired from the plane ride that, in the car, the instant my seatbelt clasped around my waist, I fell asleep. I couldn't believe how Jeb could still drive after that exhausting trip. "Where are we?" I muttered, still half-asleep. My legs felt like jelly, so I sat up more in the passenger seat and rubbed my legs hard.

"San Diego," he replied nonchalantly, his fingers tapping the steering wheel. "We're in one of the residential areas, honey."

I groaned. Great. I missed all the sights I could have seen along the way here. "Darn. I wanted to see everything…" I blinked in surprise and touched my jaw a few times. I even went as far as to smack myself in the face, but it didn't hurt. _IT HAD TO BE DIVINE INTERVENTION. _Drop dead where ya stand, folks. The apocalypse is coming.

Jeb leaned over and patted me roughly on the shoulder. "We can go visit Los Angeles if you'd like," he suggested. "I'll most likely have to make business trips to L.A. and Sacramento a few times." He grinned at my new discovery about my jaw, but I noted that he didn't say anything about it.

Realization had kicked me in the ass, anyway.

"You're going to leave me alone in the house?" I grasped, surprised.

"No, no, you won't be alone," he assured. My shoulders slumped over in agony. "I'm renting you an apartment, which means you'll have roomies!" His voice was excited, as if I was supposed to feel that way too.

But then again…an apartment? Other than the whole "you-have-roommates" thing, I didn't really mind. If it meant _no Jeb, _then I was totally up for it. "Hmm… That sounds fine," I replied, trying to keep my voice casual. "Where will you be staying?"

He shrugged. "I'll probably move in with my sister," he told me, grinning. "It hasn't been finalized yet, but we're thinking about it."

"Didn't Mom – um, I mean, Dr. M live here for a while?" I asked, not realizing how painful it was to talk about her.

Eight years ago, when I was only ten, my mother, Dr. Valencia Martinez divorced my father, Jeb Batchelder, because of his "obsession to his work." I knew what she meant. Whenever a business trip occurred during our family time, Jeb would already be out the door. I never allowed myself to take on the name "Batchelder," nor would I care to have "Martinez." My last name was – and is – "Ride," and I intend to keep it that way. When Dr. M wanted to bring her with me after the divorce, Jeb never allowed it. He somehow had always loved me more than Dr. M and Maya, my twin sister.

Even though Maya and I looked alike, we were polar opposites. I was the fun one; she was the serious and mature one. I loved sports; she loved studying. I loved video games; she loved even more studying. I loved being by myself; she loved being surrounded by admirers. I was crushed on by the guys; she was the one doing the crushing. The list went on.

It wasn't like I hated Maya – no, no way. I loved her to death. She was just too different for me to understand, and we never really ever felt that sisterly-bonding moment. After the divorce, I wish I could have been able to try harder. I missed her, but most of all, I missed my mother. The regret that weighed down my heart will never leave my conscience. _Ever. _

Dr. M died two years ago in a car accident, along with Maya.

I was not able to visit their graves, nor was I able to make the funeral.

One of these days, I'll go up to Calgary and pray at their final resting place.

If I were allowed to turn back time, I would have pushed myself to get closer to both of them and cherish the few moments I could have had.

But the moment is lost.

When I glanced at Jeb and saw the tears behind his glasses, I knew I had asked the wrong question. "I'm sorry, Jeb – um, Dad. I didn't think it'd be so…painful." I cleared my throat and quickly whispered, "So um, do I have any neighbors? Other than my roommates?"

Jeb paused at a stop sign to take off his glasses and rub his eyes dry. "Yes, you do. The apartment is two stories with maybe two little household-type rooms with other single rooms on each level, so you'll have many people to talk to." His voice was strained and quiet as he slid his glasses back on, so I knew he was trying to compose himself.

I let my sappy emotions have the better of me, so my fingers slid across the chair and onto Jeb's hand. "It'll be okay, Jeb. Dr. M just wanted the best for both of us – no, all of us," I assured him. Again, his eyes began watering. I shivered and pulled my hand away. I was never good at emotions, especially if it were about someone else's. "Do you know who my roommates are?"

He swallowed down the lump in his throat and nodded. "They're the children of…a few old friends. There's James Sparda – he's your age. His foster siblings are Angel and Edward Harmonia, and the two of them are a few years younger than James. Other than that, I'm not sure who they are. I'm sure they're all great kids." He sounded more collected, meaning he was getting around to calming down.

"They're _young_?" I cried in surprise. I'm _soooooo _not going to be able to get along with them. "But…"

"Did you want old perverts sneaking into your room and stealing your panties?" he countered. I shook my head: no, I did not. "Then this is a good change. If you have people around your age, and even younger, it'll make you feel better. I know that you've gone through some hard times –" –I noticed his eyes darkening– "–but I'm sure you'll have an amazing experience here."

I smiled up at him and reached over to squeeze his hand. "I'm glad you think so, Jeb. I hope I will, too." Then I glanced over and saw the apartment we stopped in front of.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Oh, you're Max Batchelder?" the realtor person asked, cocking her head to the side. The little tag on her shirt said, _"HELLO, MY NAME IS: Anne Walker". _She looked down at her clipboard and wrote little notes here and there. "I didn't know you were a girl, and I'm very sorry. From your name, I had assumed you were a boy."

I shrugged. "It happens all the time," I admitted. "But…" I glanced at Jeb waving at me from the car and driving off. Great dad he was, wasn't he? "I don't use that name anymore," I told her quietly, as if Jeb could still hear me.

Anne looked confused. "That's what your father signed you up as."

"I know, I know. But I will never go by that name," I snapped with clenched teeth, my eyes narrowing dangerously. "My name was, is and will always be Maximum Ride." I didn't mean to be, well, mean, but it just sort of came out that way.

She seemed to take it well though. Anne just nodded and just wrote more and more on her clipboard. "I appreciate that you've told me that. I think I'll be able to understand how you feel, Miss…Ride," she noted, smiling gently. She gestured me to follow her into the apartment house.

"Thanks," I replied gruffly, a little embarrassed of how I had barked at her.

I followed her in, dragging my luggage, and she opened the door for me. My feet moved on their own as Anne led me through the first floor and up to the second floor, where I would be living with my new roommates. Most of what she said went in one ear and right out the other without much thought, but when she finally opened the door to my new place, I felt completely surprised.

For some reason, I expected a completely trashed place (probably because of my roommates' youth), but the apartment-house was spotless. When I walked into the living room, I noticed all of the littler details of the house, such as the couch sitting in the middle of the room with the TV on, blaring out rock music on an MTV channel. The kitchen was connected to the living room by an arch, but it was easy to see the oven and other things from my point of view. It seemed to double as a dining room since there was a table set up in there too. Along another corner, the living room split into a hallway, where I assumed were the bedrooms.

Then my eyes traveled even further.

My luggage dropped from my hands.

In _all _other houses I've been, I had never seen a whole _wall _be clear. It was just a huge window there instead of a wall. In the living room. _In an apartment._

_In SAN DIEGO._

Which meant water right _there_. If the window were opened, I bet I could have jumped from the apartment and dunked right into the ocean – it wouldn't be a good idea, but it was possible.

"Do you like what you see?" remarked a soft, young voice from behind me.

I spun around and saw nothing but the other wall until I looked down. A young girl who looked like she was eleven or twelve looked up at me with big blue eyes. She wore a blue shirt and black short-shorts and didn't have any shoes on. I laughed and put on my best smile for her. "Yeah, I do," I replied, grinning. "Are you Angel?"

She nodded shyly. "Umm… You're Max?" She sounded and looked just as confused as Anne did. It was probably the whole _I thought you were going to be a boy _thing.

"Yeah, I'm Max," I agreed, crouching down to meet her eyes. "Where are your brothers?" I wondered out loud, my head turning instinctively to look for someone else other than Angel and Anne.

"Iggy is in his room playing video games, and I think Gazzy is with him," she replied, taking my hand and leading the way to the hallway where I thought rooms would be.

It seemed I was right about the rooms. Except… "Who are Iggy and Gazzy?" I questioned, genuinely perplexed. "The names I had been given were 'James' and 'Edward." I glanced down at the young girl.

There was a huge smile plastered across her face. "Those are their _real _first names. The names 'Iggy' and 'Gazzy' are just their nicknames," she assured me, opening the door to one of the white doors. Angel was unusually calm and composed for a pre-teen. I had expected her to be bouncing off the walls.

Behind me, Anne tapped my shoulder softly. "I'm going to go ahead and fill out the rest of your paperwork for you. Are you content with your living quarters?" she asked politely in my ear.

I nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, I love it," I whispered back.

"I'm glad," was all she acknowledged behind disappearing.

Angel, on the other hand, was all about catching my attention. "Max, Max, Max!" she chortled rapidly. "Come on! They're playing _Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3_ and I wanna watch!" Angel's soft, delicate hands grasped mine harder, oddly pulling me into the boy-infested room. All along the walls were posters of anime, video games and cartoons, things I enjoyed every once in a while, but didn't have much of an obsession over them. "Iggy! Gaz!" she called to the two boys sitting on the twin bed, staring at the TV.

"Wait, wait, wait, Ang," the younger, spiky-blonde haired shouted. "I'm in the middle of a Deadpool combo – oh come on, Ig! That was cheating!"

"_You pressed the wrong button!" _came from the TV screen, so I knew that Deadpool had gotten his assassin ass kicked. It's not that I didn't like video games…I just didn't play them too much. (Didn't mean I was bad at 'em.)

"I so didn't cheat," the one named Iggy countered, laughing. "It's called 'hyper-armor,' Gaz!"

I shifted my stance to watch the game more closely. On the left side, Gazzy's side, was a downed Deadpool, Captain America as the point character and Nova as the final character. On the right side, Iggy's side, was Nemesis T-Type with about one-fourth of its health, Dante, who had just switched into the point character position with full vitality, and Phoenix Wright with about three-fourths vitality. Judging by the background music, I guessed that Phoenix Wright was in Turnabout Mode too.

I sat down on the floor with Angel, who was watching intensely, barely blinking. She seemed so into something that I was used to seeing every single day. Maybe it was because she was a…what did Jeb say? She was…Iggy's…foster sister? Something like that. I nudged her shoulder with mine. "Do you play too?" I whispered to her softly.

She nodded and rested her head on my shoulder. Normally, I didn't like all of this body contact, but since she was such a cute and little innocent girl, I allowed it. "I do. I love playing these games, especially with my brothers." Suddenly her smile turned into a pout. "I don't like playing against people who are better than me, though…which is a lot of people, actually."

"Oh, I understand. I don't like playing against people who are better than me either. I love to win," I admitted.

"WOOT! _DELAYED HYPER COMBO KO!_" Iggy shouted, hopping to his feet and doing sort of a happy jig.

"Cheater!" Gazzy shouted, tackling Iggy onto the ground and playfully punching him.

I raised an eyebrow, but Angel just looked at me with a laugh. "What's all this about?" I asked, cocking my head to the side, their actions piquing my interest.

"They're just boys," Angel replied, as if that answered my question in full. (It didn't.)

Both Iggy and Gazzy stopped their fight to look at Angel. "What was that, Angel?" they uttered in threatening voices.

Angel pressed her head to my shoulder, quietly giggling, _"They wouldn't dare touch me, Max!" _

I looked up at Iggy and Gazzy.

It sure didn't seem that way.

Iggy had dim sea-blue eyes, and messy strawberry blonde hair. He looked _very, very _pissed off. His rimless glasses pressed against the bridge of his nose, adding to what I assumed was his "good-looking nerd" look. In contrast, he wore a white beater with blue Hawaiian shorts.

Gazzy, on the other hand, had big innocent eyes like Angel, yet right now they looked malicious and evil. His hair was styled into a neat spike, but slightly lopsided. He had on a blue hoodie and black shorts.

Both of them looked like they could kill – and would.

Soon, Iggy went flying for my throat, though it looked as if he meant to grab at Angel. I fell backwards, Iggy lying on top of me, but I saw out of the corner of my eye Angel smiling evilly. Second later, Iggy flopped around wildly on the ground, practically have a seizure. With a loud roar, Gazzy pounced in Angel's direction, but she instead sidestepped to my area. Gazzy fell on top of Iggy with a loud _crash! _and ended up rolling to the side, smacking his head against a dresser.

Angel and I exchanged a glance. I burst out laughing, and Angel joined in, doubling over. "Whew, that was the funniest five minutes of my life," I gasped, panting for air after recovering my fit of laughter.

Angel was no better. Her hair fell over her face and blonde strands were strewn about her face, sticking up all over the place. "Agreed…that was really funny," she confirmed, still sounding older than she looked.

Just what I needed – a pre-teen with more wisdom than me.

As if reading my mind, Angel grinned toothily at me, suddenly shifting from "Smart Angel" to "Goofy and Immature Angel." Turning to Iggy and Gazzy, who were still failing to recover, she called out, "Come on, _boys, _why don't you get up?" She glanced at me and winked.

I hopped to my feet and stared down at them. "Yeah! You're not going to let your younger sister insult you like that, right? _Right?_"

Gazzy yawned and crawled slowly from his place on the floor out the door, probably to his own room. Iggy stayed on the floor, his hand raised as if he were calling for the angels in heaven – or maybe he was just motioning for Angel to come closer. I dunno.

Angel seemed to be thinking the same thing because she knelt down and put her hand on Iggy's chest. "Yes, Iggy?" Awww…she was such a loving sister!

"Put me on the bed?" he muttered, his arm covering his eyes.

I patted Angel's shoulder. "Need some help?" I offered, bending down.

She nodded and hoisted Iggy to sit up. "You okay, Ig?" He smiled in confirmation and moved his head up and down rapidly. "Good." She motioned for me to grab his legs, and she carried his top half with remarkable strength. I helped her load Iggy onto his bed with ease. Either Iggy was really light or Angel was oddly robust for her age. "Is this okay?" she asked softly, fluffing his pillow for him and bringing the blanket over his chest.

Iggy grinned again. "You're the best, Angel!" He glanced over to me, staring at me with those pale, sea-blue eyes. "James 'The Iganator' Sparda," he introduced himself, holding a hand out.

I shook it firmly. "Max… Maximum Ride, AKA 'The Beast'," I joked with a laugh.

He and Angel chuckled in unison. "You certainly are an…interesting one," he murmured, shrugging. "I'm glad that it's someone my age instead of some awkward old pervert or somethin'."

I stuck my tongue out. "Well, who's to say that I'm not –"

"Angel, I think you need to show her to her room!" Iggy interrupted, flipping onto his side and pulling the blankets over his head.

Angel shrugged and patted Iggy's head before leading me out of his room.

"I was joking, by the way!" I assured him, shutting the door.

"I know! I knew that!" he retorted, his voice muffled.

Bringing me away from his room, her hand in mine, Angel knocked on another door, which I assumed to be the other's boy's room. "This my room…well, it's Gaz's too," she explained, opening the door slowly. "Gaz?" Her head poked in, but she didn't enter. Instead, she pulled back quickly and slammed the door shut, backing away.

"What's wrong?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Experiments," she replied simply, as if that was supposed to be the perfect answer. (It wasn't.)

"Experi –"

I was cut off by a loud blast going off in Gazzy's room. From inside, I heard the maniacal teen shout, _"SUCCESS!"_

Instead of doing what a normal person probably would do, which was going into Gazzy's room and seeing what was wrong, I told Angel, "Can I go seclude myself in my room now? I would _not _like to be stuck in between Gazzy and a deadly…experiment."

Angel smiled, as if she knew that was exactly what I was going to say. "Okay." Another door in front of me opened. "Here's your room!" The two of us stepped in.

I looked all around and saw simple white walls as the wallpaper and a twin bed for me set against one wall. There was a computer desk set up along the opposite wall, and I noted the TV and walk-in closet. That was pretty cool, even though I probably didn't need all the space. Two huge white doors caught my attention, so I looked down at Angel and then back up at the doors. "Where does that lead?"

"It's sort of like a patio…but on the second floor!" she replied, smiling that toothy grin again. "I'll go get your luggage." Angel flew out of the room gracefully before I could object.

My feet walked themselves past the computer desk and bed and went straight to the balcony. To make sure I didn't stain the veranda with my dirty shoes, I took off my black and white checkered Vans, setting them on the carpet. I threw open the elegant white doors and stepped carefully onto the pretty white tiles.

My eyes traveled all around, seeing the empty road and dying down beach. There weren't many people around the beach, but I didn't focus on that. The San Diego sun was dying down, and it felt like it was emitting every color of the rainbow and all other colors in between. I stared at the sunset until I had to look away. Seconds later, the darkness cloaked itself around me, and I managed to breathe out.

I needed to get a chair set up here so I could see that sunset every day.

"Max?" Angel's innocent voice brought me back to reality. I glanced down at her and smiled. "You saw the sunset?"

I nodded, speechless.

"I'm glad you're so happy. You didn't seem so sure of yourself when you got here," she confessed, pressing her fingers together hesitantly.

My hand pressed down onto her blonde head roughly, but gently. "I'm sure now, Angel," I promised her quietly. "I'm really glad that I've moved to California and I think I'll enjoy it here."

Her face took on a large grin again. "Yay! I'm so happy for you, Max!" She glanced behind her, looking at the empty doorway. "You'd better be careful until dinner time," she warned, still staring at some invisible force. "Gazzy and Iggy have a way with ticking people off with pranks."

"I think I can survive." I shivered.

The thought of pranks brought me back to my short year in Atlanta, Georgia. At my high school, it was all about prank wars and seeing who could piss the most people off in a short amount of time. In fact, it was one of the most lenient schools down there. Even the principal and staff joined in, which was fun for a while, but got old and annoying. Ari Phoenix, an old friend as I had mentioned before, supposedly got his right eye scarred in a prank gone wrong, so, obviously, he didn't want anything to do with pranking anymore. (Of course, I knew the truth.) Ari switched schools a few weeks ago for various reasons, which made me kind of sad. He was such a fun person, but had such a short temper… In a nutshell, he was sweet, but scary.

"Max?" Angel called out again, forcing me back down to earth. "I'm going to go help Iggy with dinner. Do you want to help?"

I shook my head as hard as I could without getting dizzy. "No, no, _no. _You do _not _want me near kitchen appliances."

She looked confused. "Why?"

"Would you think I was crazy if I told you I managed to light a carton of ice cream on fire with a spoon?" I offered weakly.

She paused for a second and looked down at the ground, her eyebrows furrowing in thought. "Nooooo," she responded, but her voice was hallow, so I knew she _totally _thought I was crazy. "Anyway," Angel put in, "I'm going to go now…so… Have fun by yourself!" She ran out the door with incredible speed for an eleven-twelve year-old.

With a sigh, I trudged to the open door and slammed it shut, wondering what California had in store for me. Anywhere I moved, I always managed to bring in some unwelcome customers – most of the time unintentional. Actually, all of the time unintentional.

As soon as the door closed, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I was instantly focused on feeling someone else's presence – yes, someone was here.

"Max…" I froze. _That voice! _It couldn't be. How could _he _be here? "You weren't supposed to leave Atlanta, Max." His deep, rough voice was angry and commanding, so I knew he wasn't in a good mood.

I released my breath and tried to regulate it. I felt a hand on my shoulder and deftly tried to shrug it off, but he wouldn't let me. His hand only gripped harder. "Ari," I whispered in disbelief, "what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Ari Phoenix blew in my ear. "I'm going to take you back to Atlanta… I'm done with these games, Maximum."

The hand on my shoulder clenched harder, but I forced myself not to squeal in pain. "Ari… You know I had to," I spat back, holding the quiver in.

"There is never a question of 'have to' or 'don't have to.' It's always 'you do' or 'you don't'," he growled, twisting me around so that he could get a better look at me. His black hair was spiked backwards as usual, and there still was that horrid scar plastered over his right eye. The look on his face was pure hate and anger, and I could feel it radiating off his skin. "Except for now, of course. You _have to_."

I pushed him away from me, but that had little effect as he was much larger than me, both in muscle and weight. Not to mention, he was like six inches taller than I was. "I'm not going back to Atlanta, Ari!"

"I was afraid you'd say that," he grunted, shaking his head. "I'm real sorry about this, Max." He bared his teeth, the jagged edges looking more like daggers to me. "Then again, not really. You _did _cause this damn scar on my face…"

In a flash, Ari dashed forward and lunged for my throat, and I watched as his muscles tightened against his white beater. I felt dizzy and afraid as his arms reached out for my neck. I was slow. I couldn't react in time.

I knew I was finished.

Before Ari's hands actually touched me, something, some sort of divine intervention I was hopelessly wishing for appeared. In between Ari and me came a new person. From my point of view, it looked like a man with short, neck-length black hair, darker than Ari's. He was slightly shorter than the opponent in front of him, but certainly looked strong, though he didn't have the protruding muscles that Ari had. The _aura _around him was _terrifying. _

But it wasn't his dark hair or angry presence about him that caught my attention.

It was his wings.

_Wings. _

On his back flew out two beautifully depressing black wings, spanning about fourteen or fifteen feet long. They looked soft and fragile, yet strong at the same time. With those wings, the newcomer blasted Ari from his place, and Ari flew to the opposite wall, falling onto his butt.

Ari seemed to realize that this person with wings had somehow gotten in. His chilling red eyes glared back and forth from the winged man and me. "You damned Guardian Angels sure know when to fuck up someone's plans," he murmured, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "But you certainly have not seen the last of me." With a loud roar, Ari scrambled to his feet and sprinted out of the elegant French doors, jumping off the balcony.

The winged man neatly folded his wings in and let out a groan. He gave me the impression that he hadn't noticed I was there because when he turned around, a dark eyebrow quirked up in confusion. Now, I finally was able to see him in full detail.

He had long-ish (for a guy) dark hair with bangs that fell over his eyes. His jaw was curved in an almost feminine way, but he had strong and defined cheekbones, assuring me that this was a male. To end my examination of this stranger, I managed to look up into his eyes. A single obsidian orb stared back at me because of his hair blocking his left eye. Within his eye seemed to be two feelings – hatred and worry.

I began to open my mouth to ask him who he was, but heard a knock at the door. I glanced behind me, but looked back up at him. He shook his head, as if indicating there wasn't enough time to explain anything.

"Max? I heard shouting," Iggy called from outside.

I stared at the dark avian pleadingly. "I'm alright, Iggy," I yelled back without breaking eye contact. "Just watching TV." I locked the door as quickly as I could before he could barge in.

"Okay, but let me come in, just in case," he pressed, shuffling around with the doorknob. "Max? Unlock the door."

The stranger smirked softly and put his hand on my head, patting my head roughly. "Fang," he whispered before disappearing into the darkness. _LITERALLY. _Like a prince of darkness, a blur of black enveloped him. Seconds later, I was alone in the room.

_Fang? _Was that his name?

My knees shaking, I opened the door to see Gazzy. "Where's Iggy?"

Gazzy shifted weight from foot to foot. "Oh… He's downstairs… Making dinner."

I raised an eyebrow. "But he just called for me, didn't he?"

"Yeah…sorta," he replied mysteriously. "Anyway! I think dinner's ready, so, uh, why don't we go ahead and chow down some grub?"

I hit him atop the head. "Gazzy! You're _so _lying about something." I didn't really care about what Gazzy had to say, but I wanted to think about anything other than Ari and that avian. Ari had called him a 'Guardian Angel.' What did that mean? Was "Fang" my Guardian Angel? Did that mean he protected me from everything?

"I'm not lying!" Gazzy protested, swatting my hand away. "Come on, come on, come on! I'm hungry! Let's go, go, go, go, and _go_!"

I rolled my eyes and followed him out of my room and into the kitchen/dining room. Glancing at a clock hung up on one of the walls, I read that it was 6:49PM. With a yawn, I sat down at the table and looked down at the food. It seemed to be a family style way of eating.

Iggy grinned and clasped his hands together. "_Bon apetit!_" he cried, smiling wide.

"To Maximum Ride!" Angel announced, holding up a glass that looked like it was filled with milk.

"To Maxie-Pad!" Gazzy agreed, causing me to laugh uncontrollably.

Iggy's eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Well?" All three of them stared at me, waiting for something.

"What?" I was genuinely puzzled. What did they want from me?

"Aren't you going to get the first picks of our dinner?" Iggy asked, pouting. "Unless you don't like bacon-wrapped hamburgers and fries?"

"Oh, that's what you guys were waiting for!" I happily grabbed the closest hamburger and piled on my fries, then took a huge bite of hamburger, feeling the tasty juices dribble off my chin. "To me!"

Everyone else took a hamburger and quickly chowed down. Around the table were random chats about video games, movies, normal things, but they were mainly interested in me and where I was from. I answered them the best I could without revealing anything. Overall, it was an awesome first day…

I just couldn't keep my mind off the lingering thoughts of that avian-man.

**(end of chapter one)**

**READ+REVIEW=UPDATES**

You know what to do. Read it. Review it. I'll update.

Hope you liked it. *Shrugs* If you've read **Music Makes Me Lose Control **or **Innocence of a Mockingbird, **tell me which you like best because I'm just curious. Depending on what you say will change which stories I update most often.

If you haven't noticed, I changed my PenName from _anime-heroine _to _A Broken Heroine. _The name is a mixture of an old beta-friend's PenName and my old one. Hope this doesn't confuse you!

~A Broken Heroine

**Disclaimer: **James Patterson owns the Maximum Ride series and all characters, plots and settings. _Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 _and all characters belong to either Capcom or the Marvel Comics franchise.

**Special Thanks to**: aalaal, who is a new beta for me.


	2. Nightmarish Fantasies

This chapter took a lot longer because my index finger is currently in a makeshift splint, therefore rendering my use of the middle characters on the keyboard nearly useless.

So I'm sorry. I can't do Phoenix Wright's _**OBJECTION! **_point for you anymore.

I hope the chapter makes up for it. =)

**NOTE: **_**This has been re-updated! Look through it and see all the awesome corrections my great Beta-Bunny has made! **_(She's **awesome.** Like… a super cool beta that writers ten times better than me.)

**Oh, if you saw my fail-of-an-author-ness in action because I forgot to take some things out, please forget what you saw. xD**

**Fallen**

**Chapter Two: **_**Nightmarish Fantasies**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Thanks for dinner, Ig!" I called behind me, happily filled up and ready to hit the sack. Forcing my door open, I strode in slowly, jumping in shock when it made a loud smacking noise. I guess I opened it a little _too _forcefully. Whoops.

"No problem!" he shouted back, chuckling. "Just don't break down your door! I have enough work to do and fixing your door _ain't _gonna be on the list!" I ignored him blissfully.

With a yawn, I stepped into my room, automatically going to my luggage. I tugged my clothes out of my suitcase and moved my apparel into the walk-in closet, not really caring what went where. As soon as I finished getting all my rags out the way, I crouched back down to my luggage and grabbed the precious item hidden underneath my bundle of clothing.

I stood up slowly and stared at the picture frame I was holding. It was taken an extremely long time ago, and to this day I was still surprised I had managed to keep this within my possession.

I crashed onto my bed, lying down on my back. In my hands was the picture, and I gazed at it intensely, wondering why I had kept this one instead of a happier photo.

It was a picture of the four of us before they split – Jeb, Dr. M, Maya and me. Our parents stood over our unusually tall nine year-old selves, smiling obliviously as if there was nothing wrong in the world. On the other hand, Maya and I were scowling angrily at each other.

I remember the day clearly. Jeb and Dr. M had brought the two of us to the park for a bit of family time. It was one of those rare moments that Jeb was with us.

Without us even remotely aware, it would be the last time we would be together like that.

I shook my head fiercely and set the picture on the bed shelf behind my head. _Stop reminiscing already,_ I told myself. _It's too late._

With a loud, dejected sigh, I twisted onto my side and shut my eyes, forcing myself to sleep.

It wasn't all that hard because of the jetlag.

The dream – or was it a nightmare? – was much more difficult to overcome.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

_I sat in a corner, my eyes slowly closing, but never really falling into slumber. My knees were pulled up hard against my chest, and I had wrapped my arms around my legs, trying to entrap the little warmth I had within my body. It was necessary. I had to cradle them for the heat – and safety._

_Darkness enveloped me from all angles, and I felt oddly claustrophobic. My head spun, a throbbing ache pounding my skull, as if some invisible force was smashing a hammer into it as hard as it could. With a groan, I shouted out loud, but I couldn't tell if I was just screaming in real life or in my dream. _

_There she was, my twin sister, staring back at me with cold, lifeless eyes. It was scary, to see her look so…helpless. The expression she had on her face was one of regret. Her pink lips were set in a straight line and her hazel eyes gleamed with hate. Her blonde hair was like a curtain over her shoulders, and the way her face was scarred with crisscrosses of cuts and bruises sickened me to my stomach. What was this? Was this really how my sister looked when she died?_

_My eyes snapped shut and, once again, the feeling of claustrophobia cloaked over me, a cold shiver running up my spine. The vague sensation of someone else's presence scared me, and I shot up from my fetal state with a start. I peered into the darkness curiously, almost afraid of what I might see. _

_Staring back at me was a single obsidian eye, shrouded in darkness._

"_Max…" his deep, steely voice whispered gently, "My Maximum…"_

_His black wings fluttered behind him, and he disappeared._

"_Fang?" I cried as loud as I could. "Fang!"_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I felt my lungs gasp for air as I sat up in my bed, sweat beading off my skin. _What in the hell just happened? _I asked myself, holding my throbbing forehead as softly as I could, groaning as I touched tender skin. My thumb ran circles over the soft bump on my head, and I could already sense a headache coming on.

"Max?"

There was that voice again. Was I still dreaming?

"Max!"

I refused to look up. If I looked up, I knew this heavenly fantasy would turn into a hellish nightmare. Please, whatever _God _is up there, _don't_ wake me up. I just wanted to keep hearing his voice repeat my name over and over again…

"Maximum. I'm irritated." His husky voice paused, as if pondering what to say next. "Talk now." I still denied a glance at him.

A hard, callused hand grasped my shoulder, but not like the way Ari did last night. (Or was that earlier today?) It was much less forceful. "Are you mute?" he muttered, grabbing my chin and coercing me to stare into his eyes. Weirdly, his bangs had been adjusted so that I could see both of his dark orbs. They were filled with annoyance, yet I realized that he was still worried about something…or someone.

I swallowed down the lump that had grown to be stuck in my throat, falling limp into his strong arms. "N-No," I managed to squeak out.

_Damn, _he was absolutely _terrifying._ Screw the feel of his aura, his whole _existence _screamed, _I'm a killer and you don't wanna screw with me. _

"I… I… Wh-what are y-you doing here?" I normally didn't hesitate to speak my mind, but the way he seemed to be glaring right into my soul scared the _crap _out of me. No one, and I mean _no one, _ever dared to look Maximum Ride in the eyes like that!

He snorted and backed away from me, sitting contently on my bed. His black wings were tucked neatly against his back, and he seemed to be wearing different clothes than before. Right now, he had on a black turtleneck and what looked to be black skinny jeans. "You shouted," he replied simply, as if that was going to answer my question.

"I…" Realization hit me. "No shit, Sherlock. I had a _nightmare _for God's sake," I grumbled, ducking my head under the covers, hopefully hiding a blush. Of course, he knew I knew that he knew I had screamed the word _'Fang' _which obviously _was _his name. To distract myself, I started counting random knots where the blanket had been sown together.

The avian-man chuckled, a honey-sweet sound coming out of him. "You called for me, Maximum,"

A five word sentence! He knows your name! Amazing!My rational side soon cut in, _Max, calm down. You're making a mountain out of a molehill, as Dr. M used to say. _That pep talk was enough to push me to shove the blankets off.

Of course, I regretted it soon afterwards.

He looked at me with those obsidian eyes intensely, again running shivers down my spine. "Hmm…" Obviously, he was curious in some way or the other about me.

I raised an eyebrow and tried to put on my best poker-face, though even _I _knew it wasn't working. "So, uh, who are you and what the _hell _do you want with me?" I nearly shouted, but remembered that the others were probably sleeping. My eyes shifted to a clock on the wall. It read _12:39AM. _

"Fang. You called for me," he repeated, his voice growing cross. I watched as his eyebrows knotted together in frustration.

"What do you mean, I called for you?" I asked, honestly confused. Hesitantly, I touched the back of my head to make sure my hairs hadn't jumped up, like how a cat does when it gets scared. It was my way of sensing someone who didn't belong near me. Strangely, my body hadn't frozen when he appeared by my side. Something tugging at my subconscious told me that he was _supposed _to be with me.

"_You called for me,_" he snarled through clenched teeth. Bipolar stalker much?

Well, subconscious, do I _really_ belong with this guy?

"You shouted my name. You wanted to see me," he continued. As angry as he was, I had to admit, he looked really cute even when he was pissed off. His eyebrows got all scrunched up in annoyance again and both of his eyes were smoldering with anger. Even his wings seemed to be tensed. "It doesn't get any simpler than that."

I frowned and furrowed my eyebrows. "I…wanted to see you…?"

Fang turned his head to look at me, his usually bottomless eyes revealing all of his anger and impatience. "Maximum, if you've nothing to say to me, I'm going to leave," he warned, a scowl on his face.

_Wow, a… Uh, wow, a long sentence! _I thought, trying to count his words to no avail. _Max, what did I just say to myself? _I countered. _I told you, no making mountains out of molehills! Or crapping on them for that matter. It'd just make things worse… _My eyes dared to look up at him. Fang, as evil as he seemed, looked so…beautifully…angelic. Whoa. Did I just say _Fang, evil, beautifully _and_ angelic _in the same sentence?

"I…I'm just confused," I admitted, sheepishly scratching the back of my head.

He looked down at his hands and ran them through his dark hair. "I know you are," he murmured in a gentle tone. "I apologize. I've been told I'm very irritable." He spoke in quick, short sentences, which was interesting. I never met a person who could say so much with so little. (Until now, of course.)

Fang stared at me with a much softer expression on his face. "Ask any question, Maximum," he offered. His mouth turned up at the corner, which I assumed was him trying to smile.

"What are you?" I blurted out without thinking.

"An angel," he replied quickly, a smirk appearing on his unblemished face.

I blinked. "Don't screw around with me, man!"

His face grew solemn. "I'm actually not kidding."

"Please do elaborate, Sherlock," I mumbled, sighing.

Fang unfurled his wings and let them expand outwards until they hit the ceiling. "An angel," he said again, "of a place humans like to think of as Heaven." His eyes never met mine as he spoke.

"Is…Heaven…_real?_" I wondered hesitantly, not realizing how stupid I must have sounded.

He shrugged, and flapped his wings a few times, extending them even further. "I won't answer that. It's up to your beliefs, really," he replied, his voice monotone. The tone of voice he had, in addition to his steely poker-face, betrayed no emotion. I guessed that he was either really annoyed to be around me or he was trying hard not to sock my face in. Or both. Either way, I was really amused.

I watched with much interest as his black wings shifted back and forth as he inhaled and exhaled slowly. I leaned forward without thinking, reaching out to touch one of those beautiful feathers. Short of touching what I thought was going to be incredible softness, Fang froze and appeared at the balcony doors before I could register what was going on.

"Please do not touch me," he growled, his whole body tensing. He didn't look back at me. Instead, his eyes were kept on the balcony doors, most likely keeping his attention on something more…interesting than me. Which was like, a million things.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. That was… at the very least, _painful_. "Sorry," I apologized after a moment, truly meaning it.

"Mmph." The doors to the balcony flew open, and in a second, he vanished.

"Wait! _Fang!_" I shouted again, eerily sensing the feel of déjà vu.

Hellish nightmare indeed.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

My eyes snapped open to the sound of my phone acting as an alarm clock. I glanced at my iPhone and stared at it curiously – 7:45AM? What was I doing with my alarm set to 7:45AM?

And why the hell was the song set to UnderOATH's _Reinventing Your Exit_?

"_And we're nothing short of invincible…INVINCIBLE!"_

"Gaaah!" I cried, the scream of the lead singer too loud for my overly sensitive ears. I clutched my phone tighter and turned the alarm off. Normally, my alarm went off at _noon_, to the song _Sweet Disposition _by The Temper Trap.

An annoying snicker was heard from across the room. You guessed it – Mr. Avian. "I was wondering when you'd wake up," he murmured quietly, staring at me with his smoldering black eye. Yes, one eye was covered by his dark hair. Again. "School," Fang added, noting my annoyed expression.

_Today was Monday. _Shit. I grumbled something under my breath that sounded more like, _"Ducking pass mole," _than _"Fucking asshole."_ Fang chuckled.

Sliding out of bed as quickly as I could, I shoved passed him and stepped into my walk-in closet, grabbing whatever clothes I touched first. Weirdly, I picked out a Paramore tank-top and kinky cutoffs. I threw back the cutoffs and slipped on a pair of cargo shorts over a fresh pair of panties. With a groan, I put on the Paramore top as soon as I changed my bra. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed, running my hands over the creases and wrinkles in my clothes.

My curly blonde hair was a mess, and my hazel eyes looked as dim as Iggy's blue ones. The tank-top was getting small for me, unfortunately emphasizing my rather large breasts – I hated thinking of (and looking at) those _things_. Ugh. Big…_boobs_ never helped in Muay Thai class. Okay, maybe to block a knee impact to the chest, but…never mind.

I looked absolutely _terrible._

Fang seemed to be thinking the same thing. "You look absolutely _terrible_," he hummed with an amused voice. "Would you like me to get you your brush…Master?" He snickered at his sarcasm.

"Yes, my _loyal subject,_ get my brush for me," I grumbled, needing at least three more hours of sleep. As soon as he was out of the walk-in closet, I muttered louder than necessary, "You _ducking pass mole – _fucking asshole!" I busied myself with sorting out my clothes and making the closet look pretty, but I didn't really need to do that. _What to do, what to do… _I hummed.

He was back within seconds, holding a brush I had noticed I left at Atlanta. "Here you are, Master," he murmured, giving it to me.

I stared at it for a second before saying, "But this is –"

"A brush that I obtained from halfway across the States?" Fang finished for me, a smirk on his face. "Why, yes it is."

I mumbled incoherently under my breath about him, beginning to brush out the tangled locks of hair. "Why are you here anyway?" I think I preferred it when Fang was being quiet and irritated than him being…whatever he was right now.

"If I wasn't here, you would have been late to your first day at your new school," he reminded, popping up behind me in the mirror.

My shoulders sagged. It was true, but I wasn't about to go sinking my self-esteem to say he was right. "Yeah, no, I don't really care." I watched his reflection as my hands went up to fix my hair, gently smoothing over the curls and brushing out whatever tangles were left.

"My internal radar says otherwise," he whispered quietly in my ear. "Now, let's fly." Fang took my arm and started to pull me away, but I tugged back and continued doing my hair until I was satisfied with it.

"But my motorcycle –" I protested after putting my brush in one of the drawers in the closet.

"Your dealer isn't back from her vacation quite yet," he assured me.

"But you said 'fly' –" I started again.

He cut me off. _Again. _"Where there's an angel, there's a way."

"But isn't it 'Where there's a _will, there's'_ –"

"But, but, but, but," he interrupted. "No talking."

I groaned and hit his shoulder. "What are you even –"

"Ah."

"Fang, I –"

"_Ah._"

"Who changed –"

"Shh."

He was getting _very _annoying. "I really want to ask you –"

He put up a finger and made a _tsk-tsk_ sound. His eyes closed, and I was about to ask him what he was doing, but he shook his head. "In exactly 52 seconds, Angel will open that door and shout, _'Max, we're all waiting for you!_'" Wow. What a creepily accurate imitation.

"Your motorcycle will be delivered here at precisely 4:12PM after school, but Mrs. Dubose will not leave it here until you pay. Before you pay, you're going to realize you left your money in your red suitcase.

"Once we go downstairs, Iggy will be waiting with his SUV to drive the four of you to school. Gazzy isn't going to have his seatbelt on.

"I'm here because I'm protecting you from all danger. My name is Fang because it's just that cool. I always get into your room because you keep leaving your veranda doors open. Oh, and I was the one who changed your alarm." Fang took a deep breath and looked down at me. "Have I answered all of your questions?"

Gosh, he knew how to _talk. _Just _SHUT UP _for once, boy! Like you used to be! "Out of order, yes, but –"

"Good. I believe everything is in check then," he hummed quietly to himself, taking my hand and stationing me in front of the door. "And…now."

"Eh?"

The door slammed open and little Angel appeared, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Max, we're all waiting for you!" She blinked in surprise and looked up at me curiously. "You're ready. How weird."

"Huh?" I stared down at her, eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean how weird? Aren't you going to ask me why there's a weirdo in my room?" My eyes turned to meet Fang's, who was just chuckling against the wall nearest the terrace.

Angel pouted. "Did you just call me a weirdo, Max?" she whimpered, frowning.

"Huh?" I pointed behind me, straight at Fag – I mean, Fang. "Can't you see him? He's right there!" My hand wiggled and spasmed up and down repeatedly, trying to get her to notice him.

"Oh, you mean your imaginary friend, Jack Johnson? I remember him! You were talking about him in your sleep–"

I put up a finger to cut her off. "Jack John – when did I ever say that name?" I questioned in shock.

"I dunno," she admitted with a shrug. "You either shouted Jack Johnson or Patrick Stump. I don't remember. Maybe both."

"I – what?" Okay, I _loved _those guys. But _seriously. _Both singers were just a _wee bit _old for my tastes. (Sarcasm. They're…old.)

Angel shrugged again. "Come on, let's go to school!" She tugged on my arm multiple times before I finally gave in, grabbing my school backpack and slinging it over my shoulder. Hmm…I don't remember ever getting this thing ready, but whatever. I was probably sleepwalking.

I sighed. "You sound too excited to be heading off to school," I grumbled, leaving Fang in my room without as much as a sideways glance. I followed Angel through the hallway and out our "front door."

Just as Fang had said, Iggy was there in a big black SUV, turned on and ready to roll. "All right! Let's go, go, go, go and _go!_"

I hopped into the shotgun seat while Angel piled into the backseat. Gazzy was seated in the back too. "I thought you were blind?" I said out loud, looking at Iggy curiously.

He shook his head and adjusted his glasses against the bridge of his nose. "No, I'm not blind. I wear some really strong glasses, but I'm not legally blind." He gripped the steering wheel more firmly. "Buckle up, kiddos. This is gonna be one exhilarating ride! But it'll be safe! …As long as you have your buckles on! Yay!"

The three of us started shouting at the same time.

"Iggy, you realize this is illegal –"

Angel cut me off. "I need to get my lunchbox, Iggy –"

"Wait! Ig!" Gazzy yelled. "I'm not –"

"Too late!"

And with that, Iggy started our day off with a _crash. _

_Why hadn't I _fucking _listened to Fang? _I thought before my eyes snapped shut.

**(end of chapter two)**

Woot. Done with that.

**Thanks to you reviewers as well as you favoriters and alerters!  
><strong>Since I'm too lazy to PM all of you individually, I'll do it here. (Which is unusual for me.)  
>If you didn't review before, you favoritersalerters, please do so this time!

**wolfhead: **Nice, glad you liked it. I love to drown my readers in overkill description. I just _love _description. I mean, I could spend a _**whole five paragraphs**_ describing Max's thoughts on _**Fang's eyes**_ for God's sake! (Though I'll spare you from the mushy stuff there.) =)  
>You totally will get more information on the Guardian Angels and <em>everything<em>. Thanks!

**aalaal**: Heh, you did a nice beta, so thanks! It's all right. Homework gets to the best of us.

**Laurel Night Ring: **I'm glad you do! =)

**JealousMindsThinkAlike: **Awesome! I just did! I'n't it awesome?

**FangGirlForever: **You think so? A lot of people used this kind of idea. I love nice and long chapters, though I get blocked when I try to add too much to a chapter. Then again, that's why I put a lot of description. It just makes a story so much better when the author is really trying to get you to see what they see. I don't write huge chapters like that often. I prefer not to.

**Live In Today: **Glad you do! =) (L.O.V.E.? Lol.)

**It's Fnicking Awesomeness: **I _hope_ it's interesting! =) Like I said, this idea has been used repeatedly… Ari's a _very _special case in this story, but he's not the only one...  
>Yeah, I don't normally make monster chapters like that. Mine are normally 3k-4k, really.<p>

**Zezemi:** Phew. I'm glad you like the beginning. I thought that I started it off pretty sketchy because it was really all over the place. Glad you like it!

**READ+REVIEW=UPDATE**

Do it! I'm so happy when people review. (It shows, doesn't it?)

~A Broken Heroine

**Edit: **Super-duper awesome thanks to **Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute **for the beta!


	3. Obsidian Eyes Mean Trust Me

Chapter title inspired by _This Charming Couple, _an old 1950s movie_. _Original quote is Ken saying, "Blue eyes mean, 'Love me or I die.' Brown eyes mean, 'Love me or I kill you.'"

Listen to **I Know What You Buried Last Summer (Taking Back Sunday VS Senses Fail)**,which is a mash-up by The Legion of Doom. That quote is part of the song.

**Fallen**

**Chapter Three: **_**Obsidian Eyes Mean 'Trust Me Or I'll Kill You'**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Wheeeee!" Angel exclaimed as Iggy slammed the brakes in one of the parking spaces to the school we were all heading off to. For some reason, this school was from grades 6-12. I'm not sure why, but I guess it worked. "Let's go again! Let's go again!" she cried giddily, acting younger than her physical age.

I glanced back and saw Angel pumping her fists excitedly. Gazzy, on the other hand, looked as though he was going to throw up. "I'm feeling sick… Really, really sick," he groaned, tumbling out of the SUV. "Safe my _ass…_"

As for me... I was used to this crazy driving because of Jeb. Eh. It didn't matter.

I opened my own door, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. Seeing a bunch of people everywhere, I assumed that the first class of the day hadn't started yet. "Will you be okay, Gazzy?" I asked, a bit hesitant to get any closer to him.

He gagged, which I backed away at. "Nah, I'll be throwing up all over Monique Angelo for spazzing my ear off," he told me with a grin. I raised an eyebrow, but Gazzy simply ignored my look and gestured towards Angel to come along.

"C'mon Ang, we're gonna be late," he called to his younger sister, beckoning her over for the second time.

Angel practically skipped adorably to Gazzy. "Okaaaay!" She glanced at me and waved. "Bye Max! Bye Iggy! Have a good day at school."

Gazzy grunted and repeated what she said, but in a less… angelic voice.

As soon as they were safely out of sight, Iggy tugged on my arm. "How about we get you to the _high school _side's main office?" Iggy became quite mischievous looking, and dragged me into the school, much to my dismay. Seriously, I've been getting annoyed in practically every single way. Jeez.

"Okaaaay!" Iggy shoved me in front of him and pushed me down the hallway, really, really pushing my patience. "So, this is the Principal's Office."

Indeed. I read the sign.

"Talk to him or the secretary! I'll leave you to it!" Iggy patted my shoulder and whispered, "Take care, new sistuh!" In a second, he vanished.

"Ugh. No one's _ever _helpful it seemed," I muttered softly to myself. "Especially Fang…" I stepped closer to the door, my hand on the doorknob. "God, I'm going to kill him! Guardian Angel _my ass!_" I cried, quoting Gazzy from earlier this morning.

"You called?" I heard what's-his-face whisper in my ear.

"_WAAAAAHHH!_" I shouted at the top of my lungs, practically jumping 50ft. in the air due to shock. (Well, that'd probably be impossible since there was such a low ceiling in comparison to my height – okay, okay, you get it!) Luckily no one was close enough to have heard (or cared). "Jeez…" I gripped the doorknob again, and opened it, ignoring Fang's snickering.

When I opened the door, I instantly glanced all around my surroundings. In front of me was a desk that had a nameplate saying, _"Secretary: Lina Nguyen" _and sitting behind it was a pretty Asian woman in her 30s. In front of her desk were cushioned seats that looked pretty comfortable. Along the walls were interesting modern paintings depicting… I actually have no idea. Not that I actually give a crap anyways.

The woman herself, Miss Nguyen, had unnatural, but nice-looking curly red hair flowing over her shoulders. Her face was completely unblemished, which was pretty interesting considering she looked somewhat older than me. Other than her hair, she looked like a rather normal person working at a school… I hoped she was normal. I've had enough of this Guardian Angels crap.

The secretary looked up at me. She smiled and nodded politely. "Hello. I'm Lina Nguyen, but you can just call me Lina or Miss Nguyen or any other name you can think of." What a fun secretary-lady! "Are you…?" Miss Nguyen looked down at her notes and continued. "Maxine… Batchelder?" Was it me, or did she just pause before saying my last name? "You wouldn't happen to be related to Maya Batchelder, would you?"

I mumbled, "Legally… yes. That's my name…" I averted my eyes to look about the room again, but I soon had to look at the secretary again, wondering how she knew my sister. I had a weird feeling that she was going to end up getting me into a lot of trouble. I shook the thought away. But then again, my gut feeling is normally right. "Yeah, Maya is… um, _was _my twin sister."

"Legally?" she repeated in curiosity. "Is there a name you prefer to go by?" I nodded. "Will you tell me it? Or write it?" She seemed to catch the sadness in my voice because she didn't mention Maya again.

I stalked over to her desk, feeling Fang's ever-so-annoying presence close behind me. "May I borrow a pen?" I asked in my politest voice. Fang's irritating chuckle filled the air, but Miss Nguyen didn't seem to hear it. I was beginning to think he was all in my imagination. But surely not… Uh, right?

Quickly, I scribbled my new name onto the blank piece of paper she had in front of her. I examined the secretary again, and felt myself click my tongue against my mouth, a motion I did when I was annoyed. Jeez, even the school secretary was prettier than me!

Fang seemed to feel my emotions. "Max, don't be so jealous," he whispered in my ear, gripping my shoulder softly. I felt his breath right next to my face. "As much as I love a red-haired lady, my heart is unconditionally and irreversibly tied to yours." Of course Fang would say something like that. The weird thing is, his voice sounded completely honest and passionate. Then again, this was _Fang _we're talking about.

I lifted my right hand and hit it backwards as hard as I could right into Fang's nose. "Stupid, stupid angel," I muttered under my breath.

Miss Nguyen looked at me with a confused expression. "Is there something wrong, Miss…" She stared down at what I wrote. "Ride?"

"Sorry! I, uh, get muscle spasms," I lied happily, jerking my shoulder upwards to smack Fang in the jaw.

"Ow." Fang cursed loudly and hit me atop the head, causing me to jolt forward.

"Uh-huh, just muscle spasms, Miss Nguyen."

She pursed her lips, but nodded anyway. "Okay. Are there any medications I should know about regarding these…" She paused and cocked her head to the side, but shook her head and looked back down at her papers. "These, err… Muscle spasms?"

"Well, nah, my doc said that I, uh, just need to take some pills in the morning," I quickly came up with. "But that's all the stuff I do at home, so it's all good," I said, emphasizing the "all good", in a tone so she knew to drop it.

"Hmm…" She didn't seem convinced, but disregarded it and looked back down at the papers. "I suppose that's all I'll need you for today, Miss Ride." She handed me a piece of paper that had a bunch of names, numbers and classes on it. "This is your schedule and this –" –she handed me another paper– "–is a map of the school and where each class is."

I grinned and happily took the papers, jerking my left arm backwards where I assumed Fang was. He grunted and cursed again, so I knew that I hit him pretty well. "I'll be off, then." I stood up and gave her my thanks.

She nodded and gave me a small smile. "Have a good day, Miss Ride." I turned to leave, but froze at the next thing she said. "And you should be more careful with those…muscle spasms you have. Wouldn't want to hurt such a… heavenly being like the one you have."

I continued on and out of the room, pretending that she didn't say any of that. How weird… Did that mean Miss Nguyen could see Fang?

"Fang," I mumbled under my breath just as the first bell rang. I had to find Iggy before classes started. "Fang, did you hear what she said?"

"No, I didn't," he grunted in a wounded voice. I glanced back at him and realized he was clutching at his crotch area. "You do realize this was…a _painful _experience for my reproductive system, yes?"

I gasped, and tried to stifle my giggles. I know, I should've been more focused and caring, but it was funny! "Jeez, Fang. What's wrong? Got an immense hard-on that needs attention?" I teased, walking backwards to the general area where I guessed my first class was.

Fang stuck his tongue out, but was still obviously hurt. "Ha, ha, very funny. Just know that I'm not the one that has Jack Johnson and Patrick Stump in the same dream," he retorted, gritting his teeth together.

I put my hand over my face to hide my blush and shook my head. "No way, I didn't dream about them!" I nearly yelled, but recalled we were in a public place.

"Well, I certainly don't believe you," he told me, adjusting his pants and standing up straighter. "I mean, couldn't you have thought of someone better to dream of? Namely… me?"

"Fang! I was having a nightmare and you know as _fucking _well as I do that I did!" I grumbled, turning away from him and walking off. "I even screamed out your name, for God's sake."

Fang chuckled and leaned in closer, draping his arm around my shoulders. "Ah, so you _were_ having that type of dream about me," he murmured, breathing down my neck.

"Get off me, numbskull," I groaned, swatting behind me. Fang shrugged and pulled away, laughing about something again. With his messed up sense of humor, I wasn't sure _what _he could be snickering about.

"I'm not even on you, Maxie-Pad!" I heard a voice call in the distance. Iggy appeared next to me and he nudged me with his shoulder. "So, how were your first ten minutes of school?"

I glanced at Fang before answering. "It was… interesting."

"How 'bout your classes?" he asked. I handed him the sheets that Miss Nguyen gave me, which he looked over with much interest. "Oh, we have the first two classes together, but then you lose me at… math, history and... a study period? Lucky!" He looked lower and grinned wide. "But we have P.E. and drama together!"

"Drama?" I repeated with disgust.

Iggy grinned and put his arm around my shoulders. "Yeah, sissy, drama! I love drama. It's, like, the best class _ever._"

"What are our first two classes?" I asked, ignoring Fang's amused look. _What happened to good ol' Self-Defense? _I wondered in my head, not daring to voice it out loud, considering what the responses were to my more stupid questions.

"Yes, Iggy, what classes will I be stalking you and Max to?" Fang pondered sarcastically, crossing his arms and smirking down at me.

I lifted my leg and kicked Fang right where it counted – again – but Iggy didn't seem to notice. He had become extremely engrossed in our schedules. "So, our first two classes are _Engrish_ and Science with Mr. Valentine and Miss Aensland." He completely drooled at the mention of this Miss Aensland. "Then all you've got three other classes, and then we have P.E. with the half of the grade and the coaches Wayland, Fray and Lightwood, who are our instructors. Lastly…" He paused _drama_tically. (Hah! Punny.) "…drama with the twins Toro and Kuro!"

"Eh? Engrish? Aensland? _Kuro_?"

"What's wrong?" He pulled me along and took me to a random classroom door which had the words _Room 13: Valentine_ on it. "Okay, first class of the day, here we –" –Iggy dragged me into the classroom, Fang following close behind– "–Come!"

The second bell rang just as we stepped into room 13. The man up behind the front desk made a soft _tsk-tsk _sound and said in a low, demanding voice, "James? You were nearly a second late." The teacher, Mr. Valentine I assumed, had long flow-y, black hair that was almost as dark as Fang's. His eyes were a crimson red, but I wasn't sure if they were unnatural or not – they certainly _looked _natural. Mr. Valentine had on a black suit with a red tie, looking way more like a grave-digging gunslinger than an English teacher. "And this is…?" He turned to me.

"Uh, Maxim – Maxine Ri – Batchelder," I ended up saying with a stutter.

He let out a low chuckle. "I see," he murmured quietly. "I am Vincent, but as you most likely have realized, I am your teacher, so I assume you're required to call me by last name." He furrowed his eyebrows. "In short, I am your English teacher, Mr. Valentine."

I nodded. "Um, I'm just –"

Mr. Valentine put up a hand. "Do not worry. You have a name you prefer to go by, do you not?" he cut in.

"Yeah." Whoa, what a perceptive teacher. "Here, I'll write it down…"

"Why don't you just introduce yourself to the class?" he suggested, gesturing me to face the multitude of strange faces – minus Fang and Iggy. "Class, attention!" Everyone quickly sat down and looked forward, staring at me with blank expressions. (With the exception of Iggy, who was busy waving at me exuberantly from the back of the classroom.)

I nodded. "My name is Maximum Ride," I said firmly, making sure I kept a straight face. "But people just call me Max."

In the back, Iggy started giggling, which caused the whole class to erupt, save for Fang, who was busy sulking in the corner. Mr. Valentine easily took control though. "Class! You _will _be serious for our new student. This is _no way _to be acting to a new transfer!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist onto his wooden desk. The sound was so loud I thought that he had cracked the desk in half.

Suddenly, the whole class quieted down. "Good," Mr. Valentine murmured, "Good. Now, Maximum, will you please tell us where you were from and why you moved to San Diego?"

"I was from Atlanta, and I moved 'cause my dad had gotten transferred because of his work," I explained.

Mr. Valentine nodded. "I see." Then he turned to the rest of the class. "Now, all of you be nice to Max." He glanced back at me. "Go take your seat next to James. That will be your permanent seating for now."

I followed his orders and got glares from pretty much every girl in the room. Was Iggy one of those popular guys that all the girls swooned over? I shivered involuntarily as I sat down. "Hey, Ig," I called out softly, nodding at him.

"Yo," was all he said back before taking out supplies for the class.

I also got out supplies and binders and random stuff, but, of course, my Guardian Angel had to make it hellish for me.

As soon as the lesson started, Fang shoved me off my chair and sat in it himself. Luckily – or unluckily, I dunno – none of the class realized it. I stood up slowly and glared at him, but all he did was pat his lap, as if I was... Oh _HELL _no.

"Take a seat, Miss Ride," Mr. Valentine called from the front desk. Most of the eyes in classroom turned to look at me.

"Yes, sir," I replied, cautiously sitting in Fang's lap. I tried my best to concentrate on what Mr. Valentine was lecturing about – how Shakespeare was actually an early form of modern English and not Olden English – but stupid Fang kept distracting me over and over again.

"How distracting am I?" he asked, leaning his head against my back gently.

"Very," I mumbled back, trying to take notes on why Shakespeare wrote _Othello. _I couldn't concentrate _at all. _

Fang chuckled and sighed into my back, but miraculously didn't make any other snarky comments until the class was over.

Soon, the bell for the end of class rang and Iggy shot up from his seat. "Mr. Valentine! I have a question to ask, if you don't mind." The rest of the class shuffled out to their next class, but I stayed close behind Iggy with Fang on my tail. "Oh, Max, you can go on ahead. This is only gonna take a minute."

"But I don't know where my next class is," I reminded him.

"Oh, right!" He nodded in acknowledgement and then turned back to Mr. Valentine. "Err, is it okay if I skip out on the class trip this weekend?"

Mr. Valentine raised an eyebrow. "What is your reason? I clearly recall you not being able to wait for it." He glanced down at the papers on his desk. "We _are _going to a root beer factory…"

Iggy fidgeted a little and then looked back up at him. "Well, some things came up. My, uh… My family's not really doing well, and I also need to get Max used to San Diego…"

"Ah, I see," he murmured in response, nodding. "I understand. I will take you off the list as soon as possible." Mr. Valentine leaned down and scribbled something on a Post-It note. "I hope your family recovers from… What has happened, James."

Iggy smiled. "Thanks, Mr. V. You're awesome." I made a mental note to ask what happened to Iggy's family.

Mr. Valentine nodded his understanding as the two of us left the classroom.

Iggy patted my shoulder and led me along to our next class, which took place in room 15, right around the corner of the room we just left. "Here we are… My favorite class of the day," he murmured in a mesmerized voice. "Science…_with Miss Aensland_…"

"Hmm…" I heard Fang hum behind me. "I wonder if she's a cute red-head. It certainly would explain why all the boys are swooning over her." His voice turned just as amazed and awestruck as Iggy's! _THAT'S _saying something.

Under my breath, I grumbled about how annoyed I was with his random remarks. "Ig, what's so great about –"

He slid the door open and shoved me inside, quickly standing next to me. "Hi, Miss Aensland!" he yelled, almost in my ear.

The teacher smiled at him kindly. "Ah, James," she greeted with a thick European accent, putting her hand in her chin and watching Iggy. "I notice that you're as excited as always."

She had straight and long, _really _unnatural light _green _hair that flowed to the middle of her back from my point of view. (What's with all the unnaturalness of the staff?) Her eyes were bright and gleaming with amusement, but she reminded me of a girl you'd see on a Playboy magazine. She wore a white polo that didn't have the top three buttons done and a mid-thigh length skirt. Weren't teachers supposed to be as… "school appropriate" as the students?

"It's good to see you today." Miss Aensland turned to me, that same smirk still on her face. "And you are the transfer student, I assume?" Her voice was just as…seductive…? Yes, just as _seductive_ as she looked!

"Uh, yeah. Hi." No wonder Iggy swooned over her! She's freaking… She just had that kind of aura around her that screamed,_ One day, I'm going to make you have sex with me – and whether you want to or not, you'll love it! _"I'm Maximum Ride, but people just call me Max."

She cocked her head to the side and stared at me pleasantly. "I am Madame Aensland," she told me quietly, smiling. "But people either call me by my first name or simply Miss Aensland."

I smiled shyly. "It's nice to meet you." Whew. This lady's atmosphere was…_whew._

Iggy nudged me. "Isn't she just…just…awesome?" He jerked his chin up at her, grinning wide.

Miss Aensland giggled and shooed us off. "To your seat, Mr. Sparda. As for you, Max, you may sit where you like once _everyone files in!_" she exclaimed to everyone else. Once they were all was seated, I started off toward a seat near Iggy, but Miss Aensland stopped me. "Why don't you introduce yourself, Miss Ride?"

I shrugged. "Sure, Miss Aensland," I agreed, staring back at the class. As it quieted down, I felt the hairs on my neck stand up and suddenly, the anxiety was back. "I, uh, I'm Max Ride as some of you probably know. I came here from Atlanta because of my dad's work." I nodded and shrugged again. "Well, that's it, really."

Miss Aensland chortled softly. "You may sit down now, Miss Ride."

I nodded and took a seat next to Iggy, but the person seated on my left side looked familiar… "Dylan?" I hissed, glancing at him curiously.

My old friend from Atlanta grinned goofily at me. "Yeah, isn't this great? I didn't know you moved –"

"Mr. Seymour!" Miss Aensland exclaimed, slamming her ruler onto the desk. "Please, no talking in _my _class! You need to take notes on dry ice for our experiment this Friday!" Her European accent was _so _thick I didn't get how someone could take sufficient notes.

Dylan hung his head, but had a clear smirk on his face. "Sorry, Miss Morrigan – uh, Miss Aensland," he apologized. He winked at me and then went back to staring at Miss Aensland's ass.

Poor, poor science teacher. Was_ every_ guy crazy for her?

I felt a hand touch my shoulder, who I instantly assumed was Iggy, and grumbled, "Whaddya want?" In an instant, I felt the hairs on my neck stand up. Was Iggy…? No, he couldn't have. I didn't sense him in that way yesterday.

"You can't trust Dylan," Fang whispered into my ear, kneeling down. "Please believe me Max."

"All you've done was cause me nothing but trouble," I murmured quietly. "Why should I?"

He gripped my left hand as I took notes with my right. I tried to ignore him, hoping not to catch any attention. "Listen to me, Max. I have to be the one person you can rely on without fail." He paused and adjusted his grasp on my wrist. "And only me, understand?"

I raised my left arm, forcing Fang to let go of my hand. "Miss, uh, Aensland?"

She turned around from her lecture on the board. "Yes, Maximum?" I heard half the class groan. I'm pretty sure that was because they couldn't see her butt anymore.

"Could I go to the restroom?" I requested in my nicest voice. Miss Aensland nodded.

Fang grabbed my shoulder again as I stood up and walked to the door. "Thank you," he whispered.

As soon as we left the room, I took out my map and headed for the nearest bathroom. "I didn't do it for you…Fangy. I need to use the bathroom!"

He ignored my comment. "Touch the back of your neck," he ordered me.

Heh. I was gonna screw around with him before he instructed me around! Besides, I already checked. I mean, I wasn't stupid! "Why?"

"Just do it!" he murmured, looking at me intensely. That asshole-look in his eyes said he knew I wanted to mess with him. Ugh. I nodded and did so, noticing that I still had that feeling of anxiety creeping around. "Feel that?" he continued. "That's because of _Dylan Seymour."_

My voice got caught in my throat. He wanted to accuse _Dylan? _ "B-but, it could be because of you, remember?" I countered feebly.

He chuckled and slid his creamy pale hands into his pockets. "It couldn't be. You checked last night…_Remember?_" His last word was said mockingly. Of course.

I blinked curiously. "You…knew?"

"I've got extremely good memory. Note, I _have _been around for nearly four-hundred years," he murmured, leaning against the wall outside the bathrooms.

I pressed my back against the one opposite him, thinking deeply. "Four-hundred…"

"But that's not the topic at hand." Wow. Clammy much. "Now… Why don't you believe me Max?"

I shrugged and dipped my head down to take a gulp of water from the little drinking fountain. It was cool and refreshing as it dripped down my throat. I wiped my mouth. "I don't know you," I told him, "but I _do _know Dylan."

"You… No, you don't Max, you don't," he whispered almost…ruefully. Did he mean I didn't know _him _or I didn't know _Dylan? _Or both? In a hiss, he said, _"You don't know Dylan. _Or Ari Phoenix. Or Brigid Jones. Or Sam Avery or Jeb Batchelder or Valencia Martinez or _anyone else _you thought you knew. You met Angel and Edward Harmonia _only _yesterday and you already trust them. For the Deity's sake, James treats you like you've known him for years!"

I gasped. He just named every person I felt I could believe and trust in. "How did you –"

"I told you Max. I am your guardian," he prompted, scowling. "Please, trust me!" he half-begged, looking at me with his onyx eyes, pleadingly.

"How?" I whispered. "How can I trust you? I don't even _know _you!"

He shook his head violently. "Max, you know me. I've been with you ever since you were born! I've just never…revealed myself to you."

"Are you… Like my…" I swallowed another gulp of water before saying something I _knew _he was going to laugh at. "Like… a Guardian Angel?"

His face scrunched up in what looked like laughter. "The hell do you think this is? Some kind of a fairy tale?"

I nodded.

"…Reborn much more naïve than…" he muttered under his breath. Why couldn't I catch all of that? "I am not a silly 'Guardian Angel' –" –he air-quoted it– "though I _am _your faithful Protector as well as a messenger from the Paradise-like haven." He coughed and looked me hard in the eyes. "We are a team called Starlight. We, the…_angels, _are nothing more than our Deity's servants. We exist to serve Deity and only when we are finished with our job can we ever be freed…of our curse."

"C-Curse? You're _cursed?" _I stared at him in confusion. "I thought that 'angels' were supposed to be all holy and stuff."

"You _stupid _girl!" he growled quietly. "You know nothing." He slumped back and looked to the ceiling, probably reverting back to his emo self.

"That's why I'm asking these questions, Fang!" I shouted back, clenching my fists tightly. Shit, I didn't mean to shout that so loudly. Someone was probably going to check up on what was going on…

Fang glared at me. The way his body and wings were stiffened told me he was just as high-strung as I was.

"I want to know," I whispered. "I want to help." And the thing is, I genuinely did want to help. Amazing, wasn't it?

He stared at me with angry, yet saddened eyes and slowly walked toward me. When he was right in front of me, he continued in a voice I had never heard from him before. "How… How can you help me, Maximum, when you can barely help yourself?" he murmured softly, gently cradling my chin his hands.

"Wh-what?" I tried to pull back, but hit my head against the wall behind me.

Fang quickly stood back up straighter, losing all physical touch. "You would not be able to survive without me." He chuckled shakily. "An accident prone is what you are."

"Whaaaaat? I can _totally_ survive without you!" I whined stubbornly, trying to force myself to get over the close contact.

His eyes narrowed. "Recall all these incidents: Canada. You nearly drowned in the Niagara Falls. I saved you."

"_No!_ That cute Canadian guard guy was the one that–"

"Who do you think that was?" he interrupted. My jaw dropped, but I quickly closed it. That was…_him_? "I thought so. Though I'm glad you thought I was cute." He coughed, a flush passing his face, but continued as if nothing happened. "Now then, what else… Ah, Florida."

"No way, you _were not _there, were you?" I grumbled. This was probably the most embarrassing thing _ever. _You see, Jeb thought I'd have a lot of fun down in Florida after I messed up in New York (nearly burned down the Empire State Building), changing from a busy city to a fun, littler city down there. Well… It didn't really work.

He laughed huskily and leaned against the wall, our shoulders almost touching. "We were in Disneyworld. You nearly killed yourself on Space Mountain. I can't believe you weren't buckled up correctly –"

"I was eleven!" I mumbled, turning away from him so he wouldn't see my burning face.

"If I wasn't there to turn on the emergency brakes –"

"You were that cute maintenance guy?"

"What is with humans and their adjectives?" he muttered, shaking his head. "Cute, cute, cute. Is that all I am to you? Personally, I prefer handsome, mysterious, attractive, sexy... 'Cute' is too kiddish –"

"Fang," I snarled dangerously.

"Okay, okay," he said, putting up his hands in a calm-down gesture. "My point is, you need someone to help you. Always. Especially when you were in Atlanta –" He quickly clamped his hand over his mouth.

I raised an eyebrow. "What… The drunken bar fight thing?" I realized. "They didn't even… mess me up too much." The truth was, they really did. My jaw was fucked up for a good portion of my morning and I still felt all the aches from being thrown around.

"If it wasn't for me, you'd be in a coma right about now," he said softly, "Or worse. That man… he was about to smash his broken beer bottle right into your skull, Max! Just… Try to be more careful…"

I closed my eyes and tried to see things from his point of view. If I was a… _Protector _to someone that had a knack for getting herself into trouble, I would be troubled too. After all those incidents, you would have thought he wanted to appear to me faster. "I guess… I understand."

"Good." He put his hand on my head and rubbed it roughly. "Why don't we go back to class? I'm sure it's going to end soon." Fang turned on his heel and started walking away, but realized I wasn't moving. "Max?"

"I still need to pee," I reminded him in embarrassment.

He chuckled and nodded. "Continue on."

"Uh…" He raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to watch me in the bathroom, right?"

Fang smirked evilly. "That's for me to know and you to_ never _find out."

I threw him a glare. "I'll assume that's a yes."

He shrugged and kept walking. "Say what you will."

Lord, Deity, whatever, if I see him _anywhere_ in that bathroom, expect one of your angels to be back sooner than expected.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

Dylan stared at me curiously as I walked into the classroom with Fang right behind me. The ending bell just rang, which seemed to prompt Dylan to come up to me. "Hey, Max," he greeted with a smile.

"End of class, everyone!" Miss Aensland called out.

I waved at the science teacher and then turned back to Dylan. "Hi Dylan," I replied.

"It's, uh, a twenty minute break right now," he told me quietly, putting his hand on my shoulder gently. "You wanna go hang around with me and my pals?"

I saw Iggy appear behind him and shake his head fiercely. "Uh… Nah," I ended up saying. "Iggy promised me he'd show me around. I'd hate to disappoint – oh hey, Iggy." I looked at him pleadingly, hoping he understood I wanted him to finish the conversation.

He didn't need to.

Dylan's eyes narrowed. For a second, I could see a rare emotion in them – anger? – but it passed away. "Hmm…Okay. Just know I'm around if you ever wanna hang…" He shrugged and disappeared out of the room, a frown on his face.

Iggy grabbed my shoulders roughly as soon as we left the room and Dylan out of sight. "You _know _him?" he exclaimed, staring at me with angry blue eyes.

I tried to ignore all the looks passersby were giving us. "Y-yeah. He was a friend from Atlan –"

"You really shouldn't…" He glanced behind him, probably looking angrily at the people staring at us. "You shouldn't trust him."

I scowled, remembering the conversation I had earlier with Fang. "Why?"

Iggy frowned. "Believe me… I just... Uh, well, he's just… He's not a good guy!"

I suddenly imagined Fang glaring at me with those onyx eyes that plainly said, 'Trust me or I kill you.' A sigh left my lips. "Fine."

Iggy bowed his head. "Wow. That was a lot easier than I thought! Thanks Max. You're the best." He grinned, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along outside the main building. That kid has got to be partially bipolar or something...

"You don't believe me," Fang whispered, tapping my shoulder, "but you believed him."

I shook my head roughly and let myself be pulled by Ig. "Uh-huh, I don't trust you," I murmured quietly.

Iggy looked up. Huh?"

"N-nothing," I mumbled, startled. "Just thinking." I rubbed my back of my neck slowly. Something was up… I was still alerted.

"What were you thinking about?" Iggy asked.

I glanced at Fang as nonchalantly as possible before answering. "Wondering how… I'm supposed to _trust._"

"Really?" He sounded surprised. "The way I see it… You can't really trust a person until they prove themself to you."

"Prove themself?" I repeated, nudging Fang who had been walking next to me. He growled, but abruptly stopped the sound when I pinched his elbow.

Iggy nodded. "Yeah, totally. I actually don't like the word 'trust' too much."

"How about me?" I wondered out loud. "What do you think about me?"

"Angel and Gaz love you," he told me, putting an arm around my shoulders. "So do I, sissy."

"I'm glad," I mumbled. "I love all of you too."

"Was there someone in particular you were thinking about?" He took a seat on a bench outside, obviously relaxed.

I shrugged, feeling Fang's cold hand near mine. "Yeah. I guess so."

Iggy patted a seat next to him. "Well, I'm sure that person will prove themself to you soon." He gave me an assuring smile.

I sat down next to him, my weary legs giving into the stress of craziness from a span of two days. "I hope so too." I looked up at Fang, whose usually steely face was alert. His body was completely tensed, but his wings were unfurled, as if ready for flight. I stared into his worried eyes, wordlessly asking what was wrong.

Iggy touched my shoulder. "Is there something wrong?"

My eyes lingered on Fang's for a moment, but I swiftly turned my head to look at Iggy. "No… I'm just a little… Uh, what's the word? I'm just _anxious. _I'm the new kid, y'know?"

"Y-Yeah. I guess so." Iggy didn't seem convinced but didn't ask about it any further.

Fang growled out of the blue. "Max, get away from Iggy."

"Wh…"

"Now! Right now!"

I shook Iggy's shoulder. "Wh-where's the bathroom?" I quickly came up with.

"Didn't you already –"

"Stomach cramps."

"Ah, your monthly –"

"_Iggy._"

"Okay, okay, don't kill me!" He started to grumble under his breath, but I hit his head. "What was that – oh yeah, bathroom. Just go back into the main hallway and it's around the corner from Miss _Aensland…_" His voice trailed off, but I raised my hand again to slap him silly. "It's just around Miss Aensland's room, okay?"

I nodded. That was probably the bathroom I was at before. I dashed off in the direction he said to go, trying to spot Fang in the endless masses of students. I was ambushed by crowds of people that I had to unfortunately ignore.

I was in a life or death situation people.

It's not the time for me to start socializing with random strangers, so… Move your ass, or I'll move it for you.

I pushed past all of the people, but kept getting caught up by more and more onlookers. They seriously _did not_ want me escaping my fate. I needed to reach Fang before someone that shouldn't be near me appeared! The hairs on my neck felt like they were just shocked with a million bolts of electricity. It showed that someone who wanted to hurt me was really close to me – and I _did not_ like that feeling. I passed by the principal/secretary office and burst through the front doors of the school.

I found Fang in the parking lot, near Iggy's SUV.

He wasn't alone.

There was a male figure cloaked in darkness opposite him.

**(end of chapter three)**

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	4. I Apologize For Bleeding On Your Shirt

The chapter name comes from TakingBackSunday's song, **"You're So Last Summer"**.

**Fallen**

**Chapter Four: **_**(I Apologize) For Bleeding On Your Shirt**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Get away, Max!" Fang shouted, tackling himself onto the hooded man, slamming him against the wall of the school building. "Go find Mr. Valentine. Tell him his son is awaiting his presence." His hands raised, and he began to smash his fists into the other man's face.

I felt like my feet were glued to the street. "W-what? His son –?"

"Go!" he yelled, trying to turn back to the man. Fang was pushed off from his position and staggered back. He was obviously distracted by me. It showed.

Fang got shoved to the ground and was pinned down by the other man.

"F-Fang?" I tried to turn away and run, but I couldn't. Something inside me said I should be fighting by his side.

"Go, Max!" he exclaimed, struggling under his opponent. "I'll be fine!" I ran into the school, heart pounding.

That was the first time I heard Fang screaming with his voice so…_strangled._

It most certainly was not the last.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Excuse me," I muttered repeatedly, juking around the crowds of people huddling together. "Pardon me, excuse me."

I bumped hard into one especially unlucky girl, who crashed to the ground because of my clumsiness. "Watch where you're going, you –" Her voice trailed off. It was a girl I had never seen before. She had long, straight red-hair that was strewn all about the place . The girl also wore a white long sleeved shirt over a collared shirt with a black skirt. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else."

I held out my hand and helped her up. "Sorry about that. I'll have to repay you later 'cause I'm in a bit of a rush –"

"It's no problem," she replied with a shrug, patting her clothes down. "You're Max, right?" I nodded and got ready to dash off, but she held up a hand. "Well, I might as well introduce myself. My name's Lissa Amano. I'm a junior…like you, I think."

I kept nodding. "Nice to meet you, Lissa, I'm Max Ride, but I really, really have to go now."

Lissa smiled politely. "Nice to meet you too. I just hope that you don't ram into anyone else on your way!"

I sprinted as hard as I could from the red-haired girl in the hall all the way to room 13. On the way, I passed by strange faces in a mad world spiraling all about me. My head was pounding and my heart was not much better. What was wrong with Fang? If he were actually an angel, wasn't he supposed to be… I don't know, immortal? Invincible? He _did _say he was four-hundred years old…

"Maximum?" That low, gruff voice told me the next person I bumped into was Mr. Valentine. "Is there something wrong?"

I turned up to look into red eyes. "Y-Yeah! Y-your son! He needs –"

He flinched. "Son?" he repeated curiously. "I don't…" Mr. Valentine examined me more thoroughly. "Ah, I see. You've met Fang." He nodded approvingly and stroked his chin, a frown forming on his face.

It was my turn to flinch. "Uh, yeah." This is getting _so _screwed up…

"Hmm… I see." That was pretty much his trademark phrase. Mr. Valentine's mouth curved at one side. "He's not going to need any help."

"But –"

He raised a hand to cut me off. "Trust me, Maximum." His fingers moved in a 'come hither' motion, which I assumed meant go into his classroom.

We walked into his dark classroom, and he quickly flipped the lights on. "You will stay here until we hear from Fang," he instructed me, putting his hands in his pockets after tightly shutting and locking the door. "It isn't safe out there, especially without him to protect you."

"I don't need his help," I grumbled, crossing my arms and pouting.

Mr. Valentine smirked. "You're just like your mother, Maximum," he muttered with a sigh. "Promise me you won't do anything rash."

I nodded with a shrug. "Sure." My…_mother? _Did he know her?

He frowned, wrinkles becoming more apparent on his face. "Say 'yes', Max. Not…'sure.'"

"Hang on, you knew my –"

"Say 'yes,' please."

"Yes, yes, yes, I won't do anything rash!" I exclaimed louder than intended.

Mr. Valentine relaxed and sat in the swivel chair behind his desk. "Good. Now, what were you asking?"

I sat down in one of the student desks in front of him. "How do you know my mom, exactly?"

He flashed a ghost of a smile. "She was an old friend of mine."

I stared down at the desk, running my fingers over marks of pencil and pen blotted all over. "Really? What was she like to you?" _Valentine's Ninja, _I read. The words were carved into the desk with what seemed to be a knife. I slid my fingers over the jagged edges and felt where the object had been pressed hardest on.

"…She was like a precious flower; frail, yet a beautiful piece of nature," he replied slowly, as if he had that description hidden in his heart. "In short," he murmured after a soft chuckle, "I loved her."

_FAXCEST? _I suddenly shouted in my mind. I don't know where the 'Fax' came from, but my mind went straight to thinking that Fang and I were somehow related. My jaw dropped in disgust. "Ew!"

_Wait, wait, wait, Max. Your brain is working _way_ too fast,_ said overly rational-Max. _First, let's review. You just said 'Fax', which is obviously a play on your name and his. Second, you can't _possibly _be in love with that…thing. It's just not right._

I nodded to myself, content with my newest argument. _Thank you, _Rational Max!

He chuckled again. "No, no. That's not at all what I meant. I loved Valencia like a sister, Maximum."

I let out a sigh of relief and shivered. "Phew."

_Irrational Max? _Rational Max cut in. _Remember our conversation on molehills and what not to do when you see one?_

_Crap on it? _I replied back smartly.

_The other conversation, _Rational Max prompted.

_Use a fluffy bunny to make a crap mountain out of it? _Ha, ha, I'm so good at making sarcastic comments! Especially against my own arguments!

_Close enough._

My head snapped up to the sound of Mr. Valentine's voice. "Were you thinking of my son when you said 'Ew'?" he muttered, folding his hands together with a smirk on his face.

I felt the blood rush over my cheeks. "No, no, of course not!" I quickly shouted, denying the fact that it was indeed partially because of his son.

Mr. Valentine laughed again. "Come. I will show you my picture journal so we don't have to get you all flustered anymore." He stood up and gestured me to join him.

"F-flustered? Who said anything about me being _flustered? _I'm not flustered! I'm perfectly –"

He sighed to cut me off. "You're like Monique Angelo on a _good _day," he murmured quietly, shaking his head.

I raised an eyebrow but let it slide. "So, what's this journal all about?"

"Yes, yes," he said with a nod, ducking down under his desk and shuffling around for something. "It contains notes and pictures taken over hundreds of years. I've complied the whole thing myself, starting from my…" Mr. Valentine paused, standing back up, and frowned, probably thinking of a good way to describe it. "From my, ah, _new life, _if you will, and it continues through all the years I've been alive." He turned to me, a large, battered book in his hands. "Would you like to…"

His voice trailed off and I instantly felt an atmosphere of blackness and anxiety. It was as if time had stopped and the world just ceased to spinning, leaving the rest of us spiraling into the darkness.

It felt as we were pulled out of freezing water and left outside on a cloudy, sunless day to dry on our own.

"Galian!" a croaky voice called angrily. "Galian, we know she's in there."

Mr. Valentine dropped the book on his desk and it landed with a loud _thump! _"I'm not going to allow this," Mr. Valentine shouted back, his voice distorted.

I felt my heart pound against my chest, a loud buzz ringing in my ears. "Mr. V-Valentine?" I managed to groan, realizing I was on the verge of passing out.

"Wait here. I'm going to lock the doors," he said slowly, staring at me with worried red eyes.

I froze in place, my feet planted against the cold floor. "Wh-what's happen… What's happening to me?" I screamed, trembling.

"This… This is a state of _Darkness_," he replied, lunging toward the door. He used his body to hold it down, but it didn't seem like the door was going to last very long. "Stay here. I'm going to hold them off."

I nodded, my head heavy, but my mind weirdly light-headed. I laid my head down onto the desk, idly running my fingers all over the marks and writing. The door to room 13 shut with a loud slam, and soon, I was alone.

Or so I thought.

"You _really _think those magic tricks are gonna work on me?" a new, female voice said softly.

I stood up with a quick jolt, anxiety creeping in slowly. "Whaa…" I tried to turn around and face the person, but I was hit with another wave of nausea.

She laughed, and grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to face her. "You're a stupid little girl," she muttered, staring into my eyes with muddied hazel eyes. She wore a white bandana which covered her mouth, as well as black jacket with the hood up. It reminded me of the guy that was fighting Fang –

…_Fang!_

"Heh." She whipped out a shiny metal object, which completely took my attention away from thinking of Mr. Avian. "Maximum Ride," she murmured in a creepy voice. "I am the Fallen Angel of Memory." She laughed evilly again, probably seeing my scared-ass face. "Your death is long overdue." My death? 'Da heck?

I stared to back, bumping into desks and turning them over. "W-what do you want from m-me?" I said, barely whispering.

"Your life," she replied softly, a grin showing through her bandana.

I kept stumbling backwards, eventually hitting the white board. "S-Stay away. I-I've done _nothing _to you!" This "Darkness" thing Mr. Valentine was talking about was really getting to me. I mean, normally, I probably would have grabbed the knife from her hands and stabbed her right in the shoulder or something! It was totally screwing with my mindset.

She lifted her knife up and pressed it against my throat, the shiny metal blurry through my eyes. "Scared, Ride?"

"Y-You wish – waahh!"

The knife pressed closer to my throat, barely slitting through skin. "If you move or talk again, I might accidentally slip," she breathed quietly, squeezing my shoulder tightly. "But, to be honest, I'm not here for you." Her hand pulled back, but she still kept the knife close to me.

"What…"

Suddenly, the knife was back. "I said not to talk." She laughed again, her nails digging into my shoulder. "I'm sure you have many questions. I'll start with this… Like I said, I'm not really here for you."

I hesitantly swallowed the lump in my throat, using my eyes to ask her to continue. _Fang? _I called mentally. _Um, are you around? Can you read minds like… Edward Cullen? Okay, yeah, bad reference, but whatever. I need some help here…_

"I'm here for your Protector," she murmured. "It's his entire fault that I'm like this."

I blinked a few times, suddenly forgetting about the knife at my gullet, as well as the 'no talking' rule. Hey, don't be blaming me for attempting to stick with it! My life is at stake. Cut me some slack. "F-Fang? What do you want with –"

She pushed it even closer, slowly nipping at my skin. "Many reasons, but you're not going to live long enough for me to explain." The hooded girl pulled the knife back, and licked at the blood tainting the metal. "Hmm… I expected more of a flavor from your fear."

Under other circumstances, I would've been completely disgusted, but it wasn't really the case right now. In a split second, the knife pushed gently against my chest, so I couldn't be complaining about the grossness of her actions.

"How would you prefer to die?" she murmured, sticking the knife in a little harder, but not enough to break skin. "Dagger through your throat? Or your heart?"

_FANG. I'M SERIOUS, _I shouted as loud as I could in my head. Whenever I felt an extreme emotion, Fang always seemed to notice and come to my aide. I guess when I truly needed him most, he wouldn't show up. _Fang, I swear to God, the Deity, whichever… If you don't get your ass here to save me, I'm going to haunt you forever!_

"Well, Maximum?" I closed my eyes at the feel of the knife digging deeper into my chest. "Throat? Or heart? If you don't answer, I'll just assume that it's your heart. Oh yeah. I said I wouldn't let you speak." She laughed, and hit me in the nose with her left hand. So much for a divine intervention. "So that automatically means your heart…"

I felt the displacement of air as my head grew light, and relaxed my body as best I could for a safe exit.

"Good-bye, Maximum Ride!" she shouted, laughing again.

My body began to tense, but I forced myself to calm down and let this girl do the deed –

"Not – going – to… let you kill her!" That _fag! _"You want to kill me. _Not her._" There was that deep, husky voice laced with anger and worry. He sounded…different. _Goddammit, Fang, you're such a – _

The loud noises and clashing sounds of a battle filled the classroom, but I couldn't move. It was probably because of the Darkness, but something else seemed to immobilize me.

"Fang, you're a …fucking –" I gasped, my eyes snapping in shock at the sudden penetration of skin. Luckily, the knife had not hit its destination. "Ass…hole…" The girl with the hazel eyes stared at me, baring her teeth, but Fang grabbed her shoulder and threw her back across the room.

_Unluckily, _the knife still pierced into me – right into my lower abdomen. I stared down at the bloodied object in surprise, the pain exploding, leaving me tingling all over. Tears blurred my vision, and I knew I was going to pass out. My hands grabbed at the knife, but Fang noticed me and leaned down, pushing my hand away.

"Leave it in," he murmured, caressing my cheek softly. He stood up again and I started to whimper, but he ignored me and turned back to the hooded girl.

My vision started to blacken, head heavy as lead. I felt my eyes droop and my head slowly fell forward. I tried to move my hands again – the knife was hurting so much – but my mind was whirling too fast, apparently rendering my hands useless. What was going on? Was this because of this…crazy aura or was it because of the injury?

"If you want to touch her again, you'll have to go through me," I heard Fang growl.

The hooded girl laughed again, disorienting me even more. It felt like her voice was a poison and every sound she made pushed me even closer to death. "I guess Sam wasn't enough to beat you, huh?"

"No. But he was actually a bit of a challenge."

I forced my eyes open and saw Fang crouched in front of me in a defensive position, the other girl across the room. "F-Fang…?" I managed to plea.

"Shh, Max," he cooed softly, his soft, feathered wings relaxing from its tense, rigid position. "It'll be all over soon."

"Yes it will," the hooded figure agreed, her voice becoming fainter and fainter. "You'll both see each other in the afterlife!" She lunged forward, another knife in her hands.

Fang sprang in response, his fist slamming right into her jaw.

I tried to stay conscious, repeatedly telling myself that if I closed my eyes and drifted away, I would never wake up again.

The darkness consumed me.

"_Good night, Max. Sleep."_

I couldn't tell which person spoke those words to me.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"_I'm sorry." _That was the voice. It was the one that had said, 'Good night.'

Slowly, but surely, my senses were coming back. I could indistinctly feel something stroking my hair. I tried to talk, but all that came out was a strangled croak. My eyes peeked open, but I still couldn't see due to something in my eyes. (Tears?)

The thing caressing my forehead and hair felt warm and callused – a male hand. "_Max? Are you awake?_" Though I could finally understand him, his voice was still unclear and disoriented. The person wiped my eyes for me, allowing me to examine my savior – or killer – more clearly.

It was Fang. His onyx eyes were dim and almost lifeless, and his hair was not much better. Its normally perfect and well-kept bangs were tattered and stuck up all over the place. His lips were cut and there was blood crusting on the side of his head. I looked lower and noticed blood soiling his dark shirt.

…Killer indeed.

I tried to move around, but Fang just wound his arms tighter around my body. I was on my back, lying horizontally on top of what I assumed were his legs. "F-F…Fang...?" I moaned, suddenly craving water. I wriggled around in his arms, trying to escape his grasp.

"Shh," he murmured in a new voice. "Rest." His hand swept over my face, sliding my bangs to one side of my face. "You haven't recovered enough."

"S-Stomach…?" I moved my right arm slowly, pointing down at it. I tried to lift my head, but Fang just shifted over and pushed down on it. "F-Fang!" I strained myself to yell in my best scolding voice. My lungs contracted in response, and I started coughing violently.

"When will you ever listen?" he said quietly, rubbing my head softly. "Your stomach is fine. You just bled all over the place." A soft, almost whimper-like chuckle escaped his lips. "You stained one of my favorite shirts…"

I clutched at his shirt tightly, trying to look into his eyes. Every time I tried, he just turned away, as if something was going to betray him. After a few more failed attempts, I moved my head against his legs and looked up at the starlit night. "Where… Time…"

"We're on your balcony," he whispered, pulling his arm under my neck to pull me closer. "It's almost one o'clock in the morning. You've been out for a long time."

I pressed my head hard into his stomach and sighed deeply, smelling the unique scent of Fang. "T-thanks."

"Of course."

For a while, we just stayed like that, and I slowly drifted off to sleep. "I…I'm sorry…" I muttered, realizing a few things.

He tensed, but soon relaxed and ran a hand up and down my back in comfort. "For what? You have nothing to be sorry about."

"T-The fight… Worry you… and…" I paused, trying to catch my breath. "F-For bleeding…on your… shirt…" I hoped that heard the joking sarcasm in my voice for that last comment. When I heard myself speak, it didn't really seem so obvious.

He chuckled and laid me back down on his lap, his head looming over me. "Don't think about any of that anymore," he told me slowly, adjusting me so that I was comfortable. "It's all over. You're okay now."

I nodded, trying to smile. A thought occurred randomly and I voiced my concerns to him. "What happen…to… hooded…girl… and…other...?"

"I took care of the man, but he's not dead," he replied after a moment's silence. "But the girl… She got away. I was lucky though." I cocked my head to the side. "If she hadn't left, you probably would have been dead… Well, if you had managed to pull out the knife, you probably would have been dead too, but…yeah."

"Who…were… attacking?"

Fang tensed again and stopped stroking my hair. "I… I don't think I should tell you." He glanced away from me and looked up at the stars again. I stared up at the night sky, trying to imagine seeing it from Fang's point of view.

I grabbed his shoulder suddenly and stared at him with angry eyes. "Tell me?" I tried to shout. It ended up as a hoarse whisper and my stomach started to roll uncomfortably.

"Not yet…" he murmured softly, looking into the distance from the balcony, his eyes a million light-years away.

"Fang…" I growled in a warning tone, although there was obviously nothing I'd be able to do in my vulnerable state.

His body was still stiff, and, for some reason, he pulled his wings around the two of us and looked down at me with stern eyes. "…It was… well… I –" He turned away, his wings enveloping us in our little world of dark feathers.

"Fang!" I screeched best I could.

"It… It was your sister. Maya Batchelder."

**(end of chapter four)**

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** Laurel Night Ring:** I updated. Blame my beta for the slow updates! (Kidding. Sort of.)

** wolfhead: **Wolfy, you're awesome. Fang has many sides, the bipolar freak. Dylan has many sides, the secretive freak. Iggy has many – no, he doesn't. Maybe he will… Maybe he won't. I don't know. Well, actually I do. :D

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Enjoy the long weekend! (For most of us, I'm sure!)

~A Broken Heroine


	5. I'm Not Oh Fucking Kay

Chapter title comes from the My Chemical Romance song: **I'm Not Okay (I Promise)**.

**Fallen**

**Chapter Five: **_**I'm Not Oh-Fucking-Kay**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

_Jeb shook his head furiously at my bizarre questions. "Most of what you just said would be what the courts call an 'Act of God.'"_

_I stared up at Jeb, cocking my head to the side curiously. "So… If there was a freak accident at the dinner table and Uncle Steve died because he got a carrot stuck in his throat, could you sue God?"_

_ Jeb laughed and pushed my bangs off to one side, kissing me on the forehead. Today was a month after Jeb and Dr. M had gotten divorced. Right now, we were living in Florida with one of Jeb's older sisters, Mrs. Jobs, and her husband. _

"_You can't subpoena God, honey," he replied, smiling for one of the first times in what felt like a long while. "He hasn't come before, and I doubt He ever will."_

"_Okay," I agreed half-heartedly, thinking up a new argument in my head. "If someone died of a broken heart," I started carefully, "because of a divorce, would the one who divorced that person be at fault? Could you sue them, then?"_

_Jeb shook his head. "No, that's more like suicide," he told me, the smile vanishing from his face. His weary and emotionless eyes slowly got smaller, his lips forming a pout._

"_Suicide? How would that be suicide?" I wondered, feeling my eyebrows knot. I put my arms behind my head and stared at the ceiling, counting the stars in the wallpaper._

"_When some has a broken heart, they start falling apart at the seams," he said quietly in his no-nonsense voice. "They stop caring for their necessities, so they're slowing killing themselves, even if they don't realize it."_

"_Huh?"_

_Jeb brightened up considerably at my lack of knowledge, immediately ending our conversation. "It's getting late, Max. You should get some sleep."_

_I shrugged, not really wanting to hear any more of this broken hearted syndrome. "Okay… Sleep well," I said in my happiest voice._

_He smiled, adjusting his glasses against his nose. Thinking back on it, I recalled seeing dabs of water at his eyes, but brushed it off as nothing. Those were tears. "I will. You too, honey." Jeb stood up slowly and walked out of my room, looking as if he wanted to slam it shut as hard as he could. Instead, he slowly dragged it to its place, pausing when it was about to close. _

_I peeked up from under my covers, watching Jeb hesitate to close the door. "Is there something wrong?"_

"…_Hmm? Oh, sorry. I was just… looking at the picture on your desk." He was referring to the one taken in the park that fateful day. "Good night, sweetie." The door closed slowly._

_For once, I had wished he slammed it shut and taken all his anger out on me._

"_Good night, Dad," I whispered under my breath._

That was the last time I had ever called him "Dad" until moving to San Diego, eight years later.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I willed the dream – no, _memory_ – away from my mind.

I opened my eyes slowly, a jolt to my stomach waking me up. "F-F… Fang?" I whispered, clutching at the blankets tightly – blankets? My eyes stared up at the starry ceiling, wondering where I was. I sat up slowly, trying not to mess up my poor stomach any more than it was. _How the heck would I be able to eat any delicious food Iggy makes then?_

I was… in my room? Yes, it was all there – the balcony, the closet, the TV, the empty desk… the picture on my nightstand.

"Huhh?" That _was not _Fang. "Are you awake now, Maxie-Pad?" Iggy asked, grinning at me. His hair was all tousled, and he looked really tired.

"Y-Yeah, I'm awake," I agreed, glancing at the open veranda doors, wondering where Fang had disappeared to. "What _happened _to me?" My body ached all over and my stomach kept rolling in waves.

Iggy shrugged. "Mr. Valentine said you weren't feeling well, so he told me to bring you home," he said.

I blinked, recalling how Fang and I were on the balcony just last night, having a conversation about those people who attacked us –

A thought occurred.

"_It was your sister. Maya Batchelder."_

"What day is it?" I suddenly asked, clutching at my stomach. I didn't do that because of the pain – it was because of realization. I was _stabbed _yesterday. And apparently by my _sister_… who was supposed to be dead.

_It was a dream, _Rational Max ended up saying. _It had to be a dream._

_But it felt so real, _Irrational Max countered.

_Remember Leonardo Di Caprio's words, Max!_ I argued back._ You never realize that something's wrong until you wake up. Inception is the key to life's wonders!_

I ignored my own comment, trying to pay attention to Iggy.

"Huh? Oh, it's umm… Tuesday," he replied, not noticing my discomfort or my inner dialogue. (Thankfully.)

"T-Tuesday?" I exclaimed in shock. "Did I go to school today?"

Iggy laughed out loud, nearly doubling over. "Yeah you did, silly. You stumbled into Mr. V's room and threw up all over the floor."

I blinked in confusion again. "Why don't I remember that?" I asked after a second, cocking my head to the side, conjuring up that damned memory again. _Broken… heart… syndrome…_

Iggy shrugged. "Who knows? I sure don't." He stood up, yawning, and I noticed that he was still wearing sort of out-going clothes. Iggy had on a plaid red and black polo and brown khaki shorts that matched his hard rimmed glasses. "Do you want lunch, Maxie?"

I nodded fiercely, the mention of food making my stomach sorely growl. "Err… Uh-huh, I'm like, super hungry."

He chuckled. "I can tell. You're even picking up our Californian lingo pretty quickly." Iggy stretched out his muscles, rolling his shoulders and such just as I was about to ask about this 'Californian lingo' thing. "Anyway, try to remind me to pick up the kids when it's 3, okay?"

I glanced at the clock, reading _12:30PM._ "So I didn't even last _one _full day of school?" I yelled. I suddenly regretted it as I pathetically doubled over, lungs convulsing.

"Whoa. Don't scream, Maxie-Pad. The neighbors might think I'm_ raping_ you," he teased with a chuckle. "Anyway, I'll go get you some water and a nice tray of food, okay?" I nodded, wincing. "What would you like?"

I shrugged.

"Anything coming up!" Iggy cried with a laugh. "And Iggy goes out the door… He scores! He's just made touchdown with his little sister –" He fortunately stopped his sentence and slammed the door shut, humming a tune from the original Pokémon series. "_I wanna be the best that no one ever was!_"

"Iggy, that's gross, even for you!" I said loud enough for him to hear.

"Don't be dissing my Pokévibe!" he shouted back.

"I wasn't _talking _about your Pokévibe!" I shrieked back, choking on my own voice. "Ow."

I heard him start laughing riotously from outside. "I call that a failgasm on fire, ice, wind and water!"

I closed my eyes, forcing myself not to shout back at him. I laid back down on the bed, trying to ignore the random white spot in my vision of darkness. Soon, my body started to relax considerably –

"Are you feeling better, Max?" a familiar voice asked quietly.

I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep. Good job, Gut Feeling. "Fang," I breathed quietly as I sat up, glancing at the French doors. Sitting up was painful. I had to hold my stomach tight enough for it to not hurt but gently enough so it didn't cause any pain.

He sat down next to me and pushed me back on the bed, but very softly.

Thanks Fang, I just went through all that to be shoved back down to my original position, I wanted to say, though I was unsure of him because of his weirdly caring emotions. At least he didn't shove me, as I expected. Then again, this is _Fang _we're talking about. I feel like I've said that a million times already… He's a bipolar stalker. Agreed? Yes, agreed. Good.

"…You're unwell," he said in a quiet voice.

I nodded fiercely, putting my arms behind my head and counting the stars in the wallpaper. "Yeah. It still hurts." It seemed to me that Fang hadn't remembered at all our conversation yesterday. He was actually the one who decided that I was totally fine… okay, maybe not totally fine, but I'm sure that even _he_ could recall his own words. I wondered why he was so worried about me all the time! He himself said that this protecting me stuff was just a job to him… or something.

The silence hung in the air like a noose just waiting to be tied. In all honesty, it was really_, really _awkward.

"Fang?" I whispered after a minute. He shifted around uncomfortably on my bed, but I tried to ignore it by now counting the little dots that looked like mini astronauts against the ceiling's wallpaper – or was it _ceiling-paper_? Yeah, okay, now is _not _the time.

"Yes, Max?"

I paused and froze for a moment, trying to think of a way to say what I wanted to in a gentle way. "Umm… Did… all that really happen? I mean…_ be honest_." As you can see, I couldn't think of a very smart way to say it. "Did I really get… _stabbed?_" The word hung in the air, and the look on Fang's face made it seem like I just killed him and brought him back to life to see his own funeral. And quite possibly killed him again.

"…" He was quiet for another few minutes, but I patiently waited. I was too tired and weak to get angry at him. He even seemed... _breakable_. "Yes, Max."

"Oh." I couldn't think of anything else to say. His face was like glass, emotionless, yet so fragile.

"It all happened," he whispered softly, hovering over me with his eyebrows furrowed. "It's all my fault... My entire fault!" He leaned over me and pushed my bangs off to one side like I always did, putting it behind my ear. His fingers ran all over my hair, running through it carefully. He ended up massaging my head gently, which felt nice.

I sighed softly and closed my eyes, enjoying the weirdly soft caress of his calloused hand. "It's not," I finally managed to say in a faint whisper. "It can't be your fault… I mean, I'm still alive, right? That's enough… _being alive_."

All touch quickly pulled away from me, causing my eyes to open my eyes and jolt up. It was painful to say the least. Fang stood at the veranda doors, again staring at something a million times more interesting than me. "As your Protector," he said quietly in his low, emotionless voice, "I am required to take all pain pointed toward you no matter what."

"I don't care about that!" I shouted to the best of my ability, my voice coming out in more of a croak than a shout. "I really don't, Fang… I mean… I'm okay, right now." I hated talking about this kind of stuff, especially when I was supposed to make someone feel better. What the hell was I supposed to say?

"Max…" He shook his head, but I raised a hand to cut him off.

"I'm… feeling better. I can move my arms well –" I tried to stretch my arms but epically failed. "Okay, maybe I can't move them much but I can stand up!" As always, Clumsy Max kicked in, and I stumbled ungracefully out of bed, being caught by the warm, familiar feeling of Fang. I pressed my face closer to his chest, taking in his scent. God, when did he ever smell this… good? I clenched his shoulders tightly, trying to wordlessly ask him to keep holding me.

"…I guess I can't stand up," I muttered, blushing as he plopped me back onto the bed, much more carelessly than before. "But, either way, I'm okay! I'm alive, maybe not 100%, but you saved me, Fang –"

Fang glared at me angrily, his onyx eyes pouring into my heart. "You are not okay," he said between gritted teeth. "I could not protect you." His voice was hard and strained, and he pronounced every syllable with extra emphasis, really showing how angry he was, and how he was trying so hard to contain it.

Whoa. _Nine words_ with so much meaning. _That _takes some skill. I bet he could narrate my life's story in only ten. But then again, I'd rather have Morgan Freeman do that – OKAY BACK ON TOPIC.

"I doubt that even _you _could protect me every second of my life," I said almost mockingly, trying to push some of his buttons a little. I hoped it didn't sound like I was criticizing him. I wanted him to calm down a little and just see things my way. I just went through a horrifyingly scarring moment and I was weirdly calm. And it was because of him. He was good to me. He was a good Protector, and he needed to know that his duties weren't all that… hopeless. Fang had to know.

His eyebrows knotted together and the emotion in his eyes switched from anger to sadness. "You're right. I can't," he agreed half-heartedly, his shoulders slumping forward, his beautiful wings folding against his back.

"No, no, no!" I suddenly exclaimed, groaning afterwards. "Fang, that's not what I meant!" What… was that sound coming out my mouth? _Desperation_?

He looked up at me, pain apparent in his eyes. "I don't know about that." With that, Fang blasted out of the room without as much as a goodbye.

"Fang! Get back here!" I shouted, not caring if my lungs gave out on me. "_FANG! _I-I n-need you! So get your ass back –" I started choking, my lungs feeling as if they just collapsed. Clenching the bed sheets tightly, I nearly doubled over, panting as my lungs tightened in pain.

At that moment, I made a promise to myself. I told myself that I would do everything in my power to make Fang's life easier – I mean, who would want to get stuck in between a clumsy eighteen year-old tomboy whose every move seems to turn the earth off its course and what seems to be a very scary 'god-like being' named Deity? _Either way,_ I thought, _you probably lost._

"Fang…" I realized at the point that I was repetitively saying his name, trying to will him back to me. "I'm not _oh-fucking-kay_, numbskull!" I felt tears pang in my eyes. What the hell was wrong with me?

**(end of chapter five)**

**READ+REVIEW=UPDATE!**

SO PRESS THAT DAMN REVIEW BUTTON.

~A Broken Heroine

Of course, special thanks to my super awesome Bunny-beta, **Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute**.


	6. Trust is a Funny Thing

Chapter title was not stolen from a song, movie or TV show. I think it's a first… actually, no, the first chapter wasn't.

…Enjoy!

**Fallen **

**Chapter Six: **_**Trust is a Funny Thing…**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I stayed in bed, completely depressed because of… well, you know. Right now, with my arms behind my head, eyes staring up at the ceiling, I had the sad hope that he could feel my pain. That he'd, well, I dunno, read my mind and ease the pressure of guilt I had planted on myself. There was only one real, coherent thought in my head, that stood out from all the rest: _I wish he had been assigned to someone more deserving of his protection._

"Little sister!" shouted an annoyingly familiar voice from outside. "Little sister, I've got your awesomely made lunch from an almost blind guy… Meaning me! Aren't I just the best?" A loud '_thump!_' made me imagine Iggy slamming his head into the door.

I closed my eyes and laid on my side, refusing to open the door for him. "Go away, Iggy! I don't want to talk to you." I sighed and fumbled with the bed sheets, pulling at the frayed edges.

It became silent, but I still wasn't sure if Iggy left or not. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling, mindlessly counting astronauts. I couldn't sleep. The contrition of hurting Fang like that was eating away at me, like bacteria, decomposing the world. Except that kind of put a really gross of thought me being eaten by bugs in my head. Eww.

"What's on your mind?" Iggy suddenly asked through the door.

"Nothing!" I quickly boomed, tensing. "Now go away!" I realized my lungs felt eerily rejuvenated. It was just like when my jaw was messed up! Some sort of divine intervention – or Fang (I can't tell the difference) – came in and took all the pain away. Ugh, I gotta stop thinking about Fang.

Iggy suddenly burst in through the door, trying to balance a tray of food on his arms. "Geez! The least you could do was open the door for lil' ol' me!" He dropped it onto my lap with no warning, making me groan at the sudden, almost painful warmth. "Eat. _Now! _You has no nutrition!"

I sat up slowly and stared down at the hot food. In front of me was a bowl of steaming white rice set beside what looked like chicken katsu and California rolls. No wonder it didn't really smell that great… I didn't like rice, chicken or sushi. Come on, Iggy! WHERE'S THE BEEF?

"Uh… Thanks," I murmured in my most grateful voice, trying to hide my disgust. "Err, what are these…_ things_?" I pointed at the two long sticks resting on top of the bowl of rice.

Iggy chuckled and knelt down, taking them in his hands and breaking them apart. He used the sticks to pick up a piece of chicken and he skillfully dipped it into the sauce. "Chopsticks," he replied with a smirk, lifting it up to my face and feeding me carefully. "Try it."

I swallowed the chicken slowly, for once enjoying the taste. I took the choppersticks in my hand and tried to mimic his movements. _Emphasis on tried. _"Gah! Can't you just get me some silverware? _Proper _stainless steel – or whatever the heck they're made out of – utensils? "

Iggy shook his head, trying to hide a smile. "Sorry, I still need do the dishes! Otherwise, I wouldn't even _try _to have you learn it. You seem really… incapable of learning new things."

I stared at him in shock, chuckling inwardly. "_Seriously? _You _honestly _think so?" I asked sarcastically.

Iggy chuckled. "Well, I really want to say that I _know_ so…" I hit him with the choppersticker thingy-ma-bobbers. "Okay, okay, you can learn. Just use the top one like a pencil and the other one like a… Well, it should feel right."

I tested out what he had said, but it just didn't… "_feel right_." I sighed and shook my head. "This just ain't gonna work," I muttered. "Can you _please _get me some silverware?" I pleaded again, pouting. "Pretty please, please?" I threw him the choppersticks, shaking my head in annoyance.

Iggy laughed under his breath again, catching the choppersticks with a lot of skill. "Aren't you supposed to say, 'Pretty, _pretty please,_ Almighty James Iggy Sparda Bonds, the reincarnation of Sean Connery'? You really should," he recommended with a devilish grin.

I shook my head fiercely, shooting him a glare. "Silverware. Now. _Or else!_" I was completely hoping that Iggy would feel the intensity of my deathly glare.

Iggy backward slowly and hit his back against the door. "Okay! Okaaay!" I growled at him as he opened the door. "Okay! I'm going to do the dishes!" Iggy disappeared through the door, slamming it with a bang. "_Ugh, she's crazy!_"

"I heard that!"

"_I know!_"

"Sphincter says what!" I quickly exclaimed, hoping he was too far to understand what I had just said.

"_What?_"

"Hah." I am _EVIL._ Pure evil.

A thought randomly occurred. Didn't he do the dishes _yesterday_? I wondered in my head, picking up the choppersticks, trying to use them. I stared down at my hands, trying to pick up a piece of chicken katsu, to no avail, of course.

In an instant, two hands enveloped mine, taking the choppersticks. I didn't want to look up even when he brought the pieces of food to my mouth. My stomach growled in response, but I _seriously _didn't want to be feeding from _him. _Blame the damn pride.

Well, he got rid of _that _complication.

Fang grabbed my chin with his left hand and looked into my eyes, paralyzing me with his simple stare. "Eat," he ordered, his face cold and emotionless. His right hand hovered over my mouth, and he prodded the food against my lips with the choppersticks.

"Nuh!" I managed to hiss without opening my mouth wide enough.

"Stop being stubborn," Fang said quietly in a gentler voice. He pulled down on my chin harshly and forced the food into my mouth, nearly making me gag. "Now chew... chew… chew… And _swallow._"

I glared at him, obeying his orders. "I know how to eat, numbskull!" I grumbled, crossing my arms in annoyance.

"Then why weren't you?" he asked with a smirk.

A blush crossed my face and I quickly turned away from him, pouting. "Sh-shut up!"

Fang chuckled under his breath. "If you don't eat, you will die," he said quietly, no longer smiling.

I made a "_hmph!" _sound and crossed my arms. "It's not like _you'd_ care!"

He froze and dropped the choppersticks onto my tray. "Like hell _you'd _understand," he growled in a low voice. "You don't understand a thing."

I hung my head and stared down at my food, knots forming in my stomach. I was no longer hungry. "…I know," I muttered. It took _a lot_ to admit that. I really didn't want to give in, but… I felt like I caused him way too much trouble right now. "I… I don't…"

"To the Deity, you'll never understand – wait…" Fang's voice trailed off, and I felt the soft creak of the bed as he sat on top of it. "…Did you just…"

I looked up at him and he was staring at me in confusion. "Did I… what?"

He was quiet for a second and just kept looking at me, as if he was trying to read my face.

I turned my eyes away, trying to focus on other things, such as how the lights were still on in my walk-in closet, how the veranda doors were still opened and how my laptop was still running. I also realized how loud Iggy was being playing that stupid game of his – MapleStory, was it?

"_Oh yeah! Fucked hard! Suck my cock, you Horny Mushroom!"_

Iggy probably didn't realize the sexual innuendo – it was more of a reference – he just made. Or maybe he did. Ew.

Fang smiled – or whatever he does with his mouth – when I turned back to him, but he didn't say a word. Instead, he scooted closer and took the tray into his hands, setting it on his lap instead of mine. He lifted the choppersticks and grabbed a roll of sushi, hovering it over my mouth.

I grumbled under my breath and reluctantly let him feed me, making me realize how hungry I really was. I chewed slowly, staring down at my hands as awkward silence filled the air. He continued to give me food, and I finally appreciated the taste of the katsu and rice together. The sushi was edible too. It was actually… extremely tasty.

After I had finished the meal – noticing that Fang hadn't touched one piece himself – I let out a very satisfied burp. "…Thanks," I finally said, taking a sip of water.

Fang nodded. "Anything for you," he replied quietly, bowing his head.

"No, no, none of that," I muttered, grabbing his hair and pulling it upward.

He slapped my hand away. "What do you mean?" His voice sounded genuinely confused.

"We need to set some ground rules on your…" He raised an eyebrow. "This weird_ attitude_ of yours!"

Fang raised an eyebrow. "You _can't _be serious."

I glared at him. "Listen to me. _I. Don't. Trust. You_," I told him slowly. "So if you really want me to, you'll listen." Hah, put 'trust' in the sentence and he'll obey. Well, maybe…

His shoulders slumped forward. "Fine. Whatever," he growled through clenched teeth. _HAH. _I'm a beast. Oh yeah. Making emo Fangy give into _my _demands. Heck yeah.

I cleared my throat and willed all the random thoughts away, trying to be more serious. "Please, Fang. What's with this bipolar-ness?" I asked quietly, trying to catch his stare.

"Hmm…. Perhaps, I am just bipolar." Sarcasm. Of course.

"_Fang._"

"Yes?"

"Fuck. You."

He smiled ruefully. "Sorry. This is simply how I act." I bet he knew that I knew he could have made _so many _sexual references to what I just said. Nowthat _had _to be genuine.

"Try to stop then, please," I told him quietly, frowning.

Fang nodded.

"Okay, now… I want answers," I said, maybe a little too bluntly. "Tell me about this girl – those two hooded people, I mean. Also, you gotta tell me about these Protectors and angels and the Deity and all that!"

He stared right at me, his true age seeming to shine from the look in his eyes. "I can't yet, Max. My hands are tied," he whispered, his face tired and weary.

I started pouting, crossing my arms. "Can't you tell me _anything _then?" I grumbled.

Fang sighed and scooted closer to me, stroking my hair with a brush of his hand. "There is not much I am allowed to say," he said quietly, twiddling his fingers together. "I am your Protector… I have always been, ever since you were born. I protect you from all harm, whether it is an arrow to your knee –" I raised an eyebrow, wondering whether that was a Skyrim reference or if he actually _was _there when I… never mind. "– Or if you get stuck on a ride in Disneyland –"

"Okay, I'm setting another ground rule!" I shouted, trying to hide my blush. "You _cannot, _I repeat, _you cannot _bring any of those incidents up unless it's a dire life or death situation! They're way too embarrassing!"

He rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Sure, whatever. Just know that all of those memories are still in here." He tapped his temple softly with one finger. "I can recall any memory we've had together – oh, say D.C. where you almost breached the White House and got –"

"_FANG. I swear to your damn Deity that if you don't shut up now –_"

"Oh dear. It seems as if I've accidentally pushed a few buttons," he mused quietly, shaking his head. "You do realize that if I had not been there when you, ahem, _accidentally_ breached the White House, you either would have been killed on the spot or sent to jail for like… life?"

My fists curled into balls, my knuckles beginning to blanch. "Fang. Shut. _Up._"

He smiled at me, that worried look appearing on his face again. "Please, go on, Max. I'm trying to lighten the mood to the best of my ability, but it is obviously not working."

"Of course it's not working! 'Cause you _keep talking,_" I growled, glaring at him.

"I thought you _wanted _me to give you information," he replied smartly, grinning.

I raised my hand to hit him on the head, but he grabbed my wrist and gently put it behind my back. "I do want information. Information that I _don't already know, _numbskull!" I grumbled after trying to pull away from him with no luck. "You just keep being a butt-face and refuse to actually _say _anything."

He chuckled under his breath and let go of my hands. "I can tell you a bit about the Fallen Ones, if you'd like. They're the ones who are more butt-faced than I am." Fang's onyx eyes gleamed with hatred, but the smirk on his face told a whole different story. He looked… almost… _amused._

"Eh?" Smart comeback, no?

Fang sighed and shook his head. "Fallen Ones… Angels who have had their wings ripped from their backs," he said quietly. "They become Fallen Ones by either breaking the Starlight law or doing… something rather… horrid."

"…Eh?" I repeated idiotically.

He flashed a small smile. "There are many of them – perhaps fifty or more – but they almost _never _work in packs… Of course, with our luck, you end up being an exception." I raised an eyebrow in confusion, noting that he had said _our _and not _your_. "There are at least six Fallen Ones I can recognize that are after you. It's _imperative _that you are able to recognize them as well." He sighed and leaned back against the wall.

I blinked in complete confusion. "How can you… recognize them, exactly?"

A smirk appeared on his face. "For you… Touch the back of your neck. You already know how it's supposed to feel," he murmured. "It's natural to you, isn't it?"

Hesitantly, I pressed my fingers to the base of my neck, but felt nothing. That mean Fang was good. I think.

"Feel anything?" The pride – or cockiness – in his voice said he already knew the answer.

I shook my head.

"Trust me now?

…I shook my head.

Fang sighed and leaned back again, squishing his wings against the wall. I felt bad for those poor, poor wings. "What will it take?" he asked quietly, staring up at the ceiling. "What will it take to make you trust me, Max?"

I stared at him curiously, examining him all over again. His black hair fell over his face, but it didn't obstruct the view of his mysterious onyx eyes. He had his arms crossed, emphasizing muscles I hadn't noticed were actually there, though I'm sure the muscle tee he always seemed to wear helped with that. His legs were splayed on the bed, his black skinny jeans crumpled. Fang's eyes were the last thing I looked at. His eyes seemed to be a very dark brown, but they actually _were _black, which was interesting. A million emotions seemed to swirl in his eyes at the same time, shifting from sadness to anger and… affection?

He turned to me, making me flinch in surprise. "Are you done ogling at me?" A smirk was set on his face and all emotion in his eyes disappeared, showing only amusement.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Now continue. Who are these Fallen Ones?" I made a mental note to ask about… Maya. Just _thinking _the name in my _head _shot pangs to my chest. She was my _sister. _I wouldn't believe for a second that she stabbed me without proof. Even with proof, I bet I'd still deny it.

"Mm… There are at least six that are after you," he said quietly, running his hands through his raven black hair. "I believe you've met all of them."

I raised an eyebrow. "All?"

"Yes," he murmured, groaning a little as he put his arms behind his head. "Ari Phoenix. Age approximately 400… He became a Fallen One by killing an innocent man and his pregnant lover during the French Revolution." Fang's voice lowered, as if he hated the memory. I probably would hate something like that too. I mean, death and I aren't really friends, you know.

My eyebrows furrowed in thought. Wasn't Fang… 400 years old too? How weird… Ugh. Everyone's _so old. _It's making _Patrick Stump _and _Jack Johnson _seem… young.

I sighed. "Ari…" I leaned back against the headboard, conjuring up the face of a crazy young man. That… scar. Jeez. I hated thinking about that… thing… that incident…

Fang look at me, worry plastered on his pretty face. (…Did I just say 'pretty face'?) "Almost all of the Fallen Ones who are following you have been trying to get close to you," he said quietly. "All of them."

"…Including… Dylan, right?" I averted my eyes and stared at the picture by my nightstand, trying to get my thoughts off who I thought was one of my best friends.

"…Yes. Dylan Seymour is also a Fallen One," he replied after a moment, sighing. "He was turned into one by initiating World War II."

I blinked. "…World War… II… Holy crap. Are you serious?" I thought WW2 happened because of Hitler or whatever!

Fang chuckled. "Yes, well, he was part of the Axis power. A loyal servant to Hitler." He shook his head disapprovingly. "Starlight powers are made for peace. Not war. _Never _war." His voice was cold.

I shivered at the sound of his voice. "Gosh… The FOs are sounding scarier and scarier," I muttered, shivering again.

"Foes?" he repeated, a dark eyebrow arching in curiosity as the corners of his mouth twitched. Uh, not that I was looking at his mouth or anything… It was just noticeable, okay!

"Yeah. Fallen Ones… FOs," I told him, shrugging. "So, uh, anyway, why don't you tell me about the next person?"

Fang nodded, his eyes darkening. "Sam Avery. Union General during the American Civil War. Betrayed the Union. Nearly ripped the country apart. Aged approximately 200 years. You had a crush on him in seventh grade –"

"I know! Now don't talk about it. I don't like thinking that I had a crush on a FO!" I grumbled, throwing up my arms in exasperation.

"Heh." He chuckled quietly, his arm reaching out to pat my shoulder. "You've had a crush on two, actually. You know… Dylan." I blinked and stared at him.

_Hey, maybe I have a crush on my Protector –_

_ IRRATIONAL MAX. Stop with the irrational thoughts!_

_ They aren't irrational! They're perfectly plausible. Besides, Fang isn't a FO, so that's totally a plus._

_ They're stupid._

_ No! No they aren't. I mean, I bet even _you, _Rational Max, would imagine Fang in the shower completely unclothed and –_

_ Okay, now you're pushing it._

_ Nuh-uh! You'd totally like that. Mm, you'd want to be in the shower with him too –_

_ SHADDUP IRRATIONAL MAX._

_ I thought _YOU _were Irrational Max!_

_ Huh? No! I'm the Rational Max!_

_ Stop confusing me!_

_ You're confusing _me!

_ We're the same person, so in short, Normal Max is confused. Agreed, Irrational Max?_

_ Agreed. …Wait! I thought _I _was Rational Max!_

"Max?"

_GAH. ALL OF YOU MAXES OUT THERE, NEVER GET STUCK WITH VOICES IN YOUR HEAD, _I shouted as loud as I could, trying to push the random dialogue out of my head.

"Max, are you okay?"

I pressed my fingers to my temples, opening my eyes and focusing my sight on Fang. He was positioned right in front of me, his face inches away from mine. "Waaah!" I quickly backed up, unfortunately hitting my head against the headboard.

He sighed, and reached forward, his hand on my head. "Be more careful," he murmured, massaging it gently.

"Ugh… Can you… Can you just keep talking about the FOs?" I requested softly, trying to block out the pain. "I… need something to distract me."

He nodded, a mini smile on his face. "Of course." Fang leaned back and returned to his place on the bed, back pressed hard against the wall. "Who was I talking about?"

"Sam."

"Oh, I was talking about your many FO crushes –"

Of course. He _knew _the answer to that question. "_FANG!_"

"I'm messing with you. Don't take me seriously sometimes." I shot him a glare, but he ignored it and cleared his throat. Okay, Fang, I _won't _take you seriously. _At any time. _"Let's see… Oh yes, two pretty red-heads are also after you."

I sighed. "What's with you and red-heads? Yesterday, you were all over that secretary lady."

He shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for a red-haired girl."

I stared up at the ceiling, pretending it was a bright, holy light. "Deity, please show Fang the light of how evil red-heads can be." No offense to you red-heads out there reading this, but I'm serious. Fang had to learn how crazy _certain _red-heads were.

"Meh." He shivered, seeming as if he was already taught a lesson like that. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. "Anyway, there are two red-heads in the pack of FOs… Brigid Jones –" No surprise. She's a bitch. "– And Lissa Amano."

Okay, surprise. She seemed like a pretty nice gal when I accidentally shoved her to the ground. Then again, people aren't always as they seem… Besides. I _shoved her to the ground._ I'm_ sure_ that'd be enough reason for her to kill me. (Sarcasm… I hope.) "So… Tell me about them."

He chuckled again, closing his eyes for a moment. "Ah, red-heads. Jones is a bitch. Amano is too." His voice darkened considerably. "Hmph. Neither of them are of much interest to me. The way they turned into Fallen Ones disgusts me. Jones had her Ward killed due to irresponsibility. She then went on a killing spree during America's Great Depression. And Amano…" His voice trailed off, almost… nostalgically. "She was an accomplice of Ari's to the death of that rich man."

I stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"…And now, you know what's coming… You do know, don't you?"

I nodded. "How about… my sister?" I whispered hesitantly. "What happened to Maya?"

His eyes narrowed, but not in anger. It was due to sadness. "Maya… The two of you were sweet girls during your childhood. I don't know what made her change… and do what she did."

"Fang, please…" I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling my heart throb against my chest. Here it comes… the big truth about my sister's supposed death. "Tell me."

"Eight years ago," he murmured softly. "Eight years ago, your sister… She… It was… Deity, she was… Just… So… Wrong…" Fang took a deep breath and continued. "Jeb and Valencia had just divorced. Valencia moved away, almost to the other side of the world. I kept tabs on the pair every once in a while, but my main focus was making sure you weren't going to break down." He shook his head violently. "Unfortunately, it was Maya who broke apart."

"Fang…?" He looked so… hurt. "Fang, you don't have to –"

He sat up and pressed his back against the wall. "This is important. I must." He coughed and took another deep breath. "Valencia… She took Maya to Europe, and then to Asia. They stopped all over the place, ranging from China to Thailand to the Philippines… and finally… Japan." He swallowed, as if I was supposed to get what was going on because of that one word.

"…Uh…? What about Japan?" Eight years ago was 2011. Was the year 2011 important to Japan –

Ho. Ly. Shit.

_She did _not.

Fang chuckled shakily at my sudden realization. "Yes, Max. March 11, 2011. Maya caused the earthquake and tsunami that destroyed that reactor in Japan."

"Holy. _Crap,_" I gasped, feeling myself shake. "All of those innocent people – and that town…" They still haven't been able to clean up the chemical mess there! It was considered the worst _natural _(emphasis on natural) crisis to ever happen in Japan – and the world, too.

"Firstly, crap isn't holy," Fang said, chuckling unsteadily. I opened my mouth – "Neither is shit, if that's what you were going to say instead." I closed my mouth and felt my shoulders slump forward. "And second… Maya probably caused one of the deadliest events in history to become a Fallen One… Right after Dylan."

I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. "All this time I thought she was _dead _and now she wants to _kill me? _Jesus Christ, she's a… She's just…" I hung my head and felt the tears sting at my eyes, but I wouldn't let Fang see me like this. "I-I… I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." He sounded… closer. Like, a lot closer –

His arms wrapped my around my shoulders and I was pressed hard into his chest. Ahh, there was that scent again. It was such a dark and husky scent that smelled _so right, _but it made me imagine a cute fluffy bunny skipping through a flowery field. Wow. _So un-Fang-like, _in my opinion. (I _hope _it was un-Fang-like. Lord, imagining Fang skipping through a flowery… Gaaaahh! Mindfuck!)

"This… This kind of thing has no words," Fang said quietly, whispering into my hair.

What was he talking about again? Oh yeah, Maya causing the Tohoku Tsunami… _MAYA CAUSED THE TOHOKU TSUNAMI? _…Oh yeah. Right.

His arms were tight around me, and I held his shoulders, trying to focus on his soft breathing. "It… It's not your fault that Maya wants to kill you. It's…" One of his hands slid down to my lower back, massaging a spot there. "It's… Um… It's mine. My fault."

I tried to pull away from him, to look into his eyes, but he wouldn't let me. "What do you mean?" I asked, my voice muffled by either his frickin' chest or the tears. I think it was both. Then again, I think I liked his chest.

"It's all my fault," he said again, his other hand stroking my head. "She…We hurt her. Bad."

"We?"

"…My old… teammate," he replied, holding me even closer. "He was a powerful Protector…"

"Was?" That gave me the nagging suspicion that his old partner was either dead or he… became one of _them._

Fang sighed into my hair. "He's… Retired, I guess." He pulled away and stared at me. "Better?" A small smile was on his face.

_You holding me is better, _I thought."Yeah…" I wiped my eyes. "Better." I rubbed my legs, realizing that both had fallen asleep. "So, who's this retired guy you were talking about? Do I know him? Is it Mr. Valentine?"

Fang chuckled. "No, no, Vincent is my father," he said quietly, grinning.

"Fo'real? I thought that was like… a code word?" I offered weakly. "…Wait, wouldn't that make Mr. V old too?"

"I was joking," he murmured, rolling his eyes. "Believe it or not, I'm technically older than Vincent."

I made a _tsk-tsk _noise. "That's going to be hard to wrap my head around," I muttered, closing my eyes to try to imagine Fang as an old man. Boo. Such a… creepy thought. I shivered involuntarily.

"…I assume you just imagined me as an old man, no?"

His voice sounded _way _more different… Less powerful, demanding, comforting… _young._

I glanced up.

Um. Who _was _that?

Sitting in front of me was an older man with shaggy white-silver hair. His eyes were a pale white and his body looked frail and weak. The wings that came out of his back were crumpled and unmoving, but still that beautiful shade of black… if black had shades. He wore what Fang was wearing earlier – muscle tee, skinny jeans, all black, but… he didn't seem to resemble Fang at all.

So… Uh… "Fang?"

"Hm?"

"Is… that how you'd look if you were old?" I asked hesitantly, blinking questioningly.

His eyes seemed to focus on me, but I wasn't so sure. I think he… was blind. "Yes. Now turn away."

I raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why?"

"Do you want to be blinded by my sexiness?" he grumbled in his shaky voice.

"Ummm…"

"You know the answer is no... Actually, since it's you, I don't know."

I sighed and turned to face the headboards, my back to him. "Okay, your almighty sexiness, I'm not looking."

"You _should _be looking," he muttered with a sigh, his voice returned to its normal… okay, maybe not normal, but usual husky low voice.

I turned back with a sigh of relief, examining his usual form again. God. I would _so totally never _admit it _ever _to him, but he actually was… an eyeful to look at. Ahem. Again, I never said that.

"You need to appreciate the sexiness of some people." He reached up with one hand and flipped his black hair back in that runway model kind of way. "Like me."

_Stop. Contradicting. Yourself. Fang_. "There's the good ol – good _young _Fang I know and lo – hate." I turned away and crossed my arms, blushing slightly.

He let out a very weird burst of laughter. I guess it was weird because I've never heard anything more than a chuckle from him. "You were about to say _old _and_ love,_ no?"

I sighed again. "No."

"Liar."

"It takes one to know one… who's lying."

"…No, I just know that you lie… a lot. And badly, too."

"SO, ANYWAY." I glared at him. "Who's this partner of yours?" I asked, hopefully changing the subject. "You started to talk about him, but then you stop talking about him and then… Yeah."

He rolled his eyes and patted my head. "You know him. He's been around for a while… though he's the youngest Starlight member. And most inexperienced, ignorant foolish one." His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "That… was the signal…" he muttered under his breath.

"…Eh? Huh? What signal?" Aren't I so smart?

Fang stuck his tongue out, probably rolling with the punches if whatever he planned didn't happen. "I guess if you don't know who it is, it shouldn't be my _honesty_ that tells you."

I glared at him. "Tell. Me."

He sighed in what sounded like defeat. "Iggy."

"Huh." Did he just say –

"Iggy."

"_Huh?_"

"Max, _I just said_, it's –"

"IGGY'S HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!"

Fang turned his attention to the door, which had just slammed opened. "That wasn't the signal, dumbass!" he growled, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. "You missed it!"

Iggy appeared at the door, his fists on his hips, a cape flowing from his back. "Super Iggy, here to save your ass from all pain and danger, from all awkward emo stalkers and cute maintenance boys, from all Fallen Ones and not Fallen Ones, from Superman and Spider-girl, from –"

"We get the idea," Fang grumbled.

"Shut up, Iggy," I muttered at the same time.

"Hang on." Fang glanced at me.

I nodded at him. "Did he just say –"

"Awkward emo stalkers –"

"And cute maintenance boys?" I finished for him.

Iggy started laughing at the top of his lungs. "Oh gosh. You guys are priceless. You two shared the same wavelength for a while!" He doubled over, not noticing Fang stride across the room.

"James."

"Yeah?" Iggy glanced up, finally realizing Fang was in close proximity. "Hohohoh. You still have your sneaky ninja skills. _HI-YA!_ And you're always wondering why I keep saying I'm the reincarnation of Sean Connery!"

"…I wasn't being sneaky… And James Bond isn't a ninja. Nor is Sean Connery."

"Oh."

Fang shoved Iggy out of the room and slammed the door shut, all the while I was laughing my head off. "Whew. Now _that _was priceless," I said, trying to stifle my giggles.

My Protector – it felt so _weird _to think that – sat back down on my bed. "It _was _rather funny, I guess."

"Tch. You don't understand humor." I fell on my back, trying to relax myself. "Why did Iggy… Retire? And why are you keeping secrets from me? Do I have more Protectors?"

I glanced up and saw Fang rubbing his temples. "I hate being asked three questions at a time," he muttered, his eyebrows furrowed. "But… Iggy… He's retired for the sole reason that he doesn't like to fight anymore. I'm not _intentionally _keeping these things away from you." He dropped his hands and looked at me with stern eyes. "As I said, my hands are tied. And yes, you do. Iggy is also your Protector, but I'm simply your… every-second-of-the-day-Protector."

"Wow. Am I really _that _important?" I wondered, staring up at the ceiling.

I felt the bed move, meaning Fang was either getting off or getting closer. "Yes, actually." Judging by the sound of his voice, he was closer. "You may not know it now, but you're a very important person, Max."

"…Eh."

Fang sighed and I looked up to meet his eyes. He hovered over me with weary eyes, the black irises full with worry. "Don't think about it right now, Max. Just know that you're an important girl and I will do anything in my power to save you from all harm." He kept talking, but I couldn't hear it. "_…even… die… trying…_"

I stared at him. "What was that?"

He shook his head. "No, it-it's nothing." He scooted closer to me, his hand resting on my stomach. "Does it still hurt?" he whispered softly.

I nodded.

His calloused fingers ran up and down my shirt, slowly rubbing the spots that hurt. "A-ah… Fang," I muttered, my eyebrows scrunching in pain. "T-That h-hurt…" I shivered as his icy fingers gently lifted up my shirt and touched my bare skin. "F-Fang, don't touch there! _Fang!_" To be honest, his fingers felt… _right _when it touched my skin. Whew. Such an awkward thought.

"Sorry." His hand pulled away and he looked down at me, a smirk on his face. "I was just trying to help." Fang pressed his hand to my head and closed his eyes, but I stared at him, wondering why he was so focused on whatever he was doing. My face turned beet red as his eyes snapped open, that smirk still on his face. "Am I truly that mesmerizing to you, Max?"

"_Fang,_" I warned in a dangerous voice.

"…Max." He sighed, his voice unusually calm. "I love you too."

"_What?_" Uh, did I hear that correctly? I hope I did… not.

"You were either going to say '_I hate you, Fangy!' _or _'Fuck you, Fanganator!' _or _'God I love your hotness, Almighty King Fang the Fourth!'_ Yes? Agreed?" He mimicked _my _voice. Oh dear. Fang chuckled under his breath, noting my embarrassed face. "I'm sorry. I was just playing with you."

I sighed, willing myself to be un-embarrassed and keep the heat down on my cheek. _Was it hot in here or was it just…_ I glanced at Fang. "…Yeah. Whatever." I muttered incoherently as I lay down on my bed, fluffing my pillow.

It was quiet for a while. "Hey, Max?" His voice was calmer and less… annoying, as miraculous as it sounds.

"…Mm?" I closed my eyes and pulled the blankets up over my body, hurriedly pulling my shirt down too. God, how long was my stomach showing?

"If you… need anything… or anyone to talk to, I'm here."

"…Okay." I imagined Fang scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Um… I guess you should talk to Iggy instead. Since you like, trus –"

"No, I –" I cut myself off. Did I seriously _want _to talk to Fang about… things? "…Sure."

Fang sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm making things really awkward."

"You are."

"…Yeah." I bet it took some pride-swallowing to say that. Heh. Awesome.

It was quiet and very,_ very_ awkward for a good five minutes. "So, can I, like, go to sleep now?" I yawned, and placed my hands behind my head.

"If you'd like."

I tilted my head up to look at him as he relaxed against the wall, crossing his arms and closing his eyes tightly, as if… he was trying to sleep too. I watched him for a few minutes before lying back down and looking up at the starry ceiling again. "…Will you watch over me?" I suddenly asked, my heart pounding in… What_ was_ this feeling?

"Of course, Max. I always do."

As stalkerish as that sounded, I had to smile.

Maybe we couldn't be considered friends just yet, but I knew that something had changed between us.

Trust is a funny thing…

**(end of chapter six)**

Whew. Some Faxness going on. I think.

**READ+REVIEW=UPDATE!**

**Response to Reviewers:** (too lazy to PM today; some of ya'll I already PM'd to, but whatever)

**Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute:** Well… I'm sure Fang smells amazing to all of us. *O* And to your beta notes, yes you're the… flowery field… bunny thing. And no, "Vincent" is Mr. Valentine, the English teacher… Vincent Valentine, a character from Final Fantasy VII, silly. My favorite emo boy Vinnie is a completely different person even though Vincent Valentine and _my _Vinnie are so alike in many ways (hot, emo, loves the colors red and black, really tall, both named Vincent). You should Google Valentine. I'm, like, Yuffie Kisaragi. Eheheh. :D

**Live In Today: **It wasn't filler-ish actually. The dream/memory was actually a very important piece. And the whole angst between Fang and Max _was _important. (Then again, they kinda made up in this chapter.) But thanks anyway! :D

**Suki-Alanna: **In… character…? _Oh WOW, I'm so glad to hear that!_ *Kowtow* You'll get more on the broken heart memory. It's very important. :3

**wolfhead: **I think I am, too. Like I said in a PM to you (I _think _I PM'd you), she hasn't been "caught" talking to thin air. (She gets caught next chapter. But by _WHO?_) She actually _has _voices in her head already. For example, Irrational Max and Rational Max are _always_ arguing in her head. In a few chapters, you'll meet Kill-Fang-Max and Love-Fang-Max. Next chapter you're going to meet her "Ninja Yuffie" side, (which is really just me.) It's another reference to Final Fantasy. Fang's creepy. You just don't know it yet. (:

**EvalineRide:** Woot! New reader/reviewer! Thank you, thank you! I will update soon… Actually, I just updated… Cool. ^^

**JealousMindsThinkAlike: **I love Iggy too. And I absolutely love My Chemical Romance. But I love Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday and Paramore better. :D Oh, oh and Panic! At the Disco.

**EmmaIsAMaximumRideFreak: **Woot! New reader/reviewer! I'm glad you like it. Sorry, Fang's POV isn't going to happen in this story. The whole premise would fall apart if I wrote something from Fang's view. He'd reveal too much about the whole background story that Max doesn't understand yet… So, in short, no Fang's POV, unless I write a companion AFTER this one's done. Except I'm pretty sure this story is going to end up being a three-part story. Hehe. :D

**FangGirlForever: **Max is too. You're supposed to be confused. That's just my style of writing. I confuse people, give information in the next chapter, _but add more questions to be answered _and continuously do this until I get to the end of the informational stuff and get onto the action. That's how I wrote one of my Pokémon stories, _enharmonic:_. Confusion is good. :D

HOMICIDAL URGES!

~A Broken Heroine

**Special thanks ALWAYS: **to the urtimate beta, _Fruffy Bunnies Ale So Cute… _Ugh, stupid Engrish. Switch the "L"s and "R"s, prease. No offense ya'll. I'm half-Japanese. So. Yeah. I apologize, Bunny-chan, 'cause of my monster chapters. I LOVE THIS STORY. XD

Fun fact: _Did you know that you could be considered OCD if you shout random words, phrases or obscenities at inappropriate times?_

Another fun fact: _Did you know that all of the teachers in this story are either from a video game, book or anime?_

Last fun fact: _Did you know that this chapter, without all the author's notes, is 18 pages long on Microsoft Word?_


	7. She'll Destroy Us All Before She's Throu

Chapter title comes from **Cute Without The 'E' (Cut from the Team) **by Taking Back Sunday.  
>Sorry, I've been using things from them a lot. I'm using a Fall Out Boy one next, just for that P-Stump lover whose penname I've forgotten. (:<p>

I'm thinking of writing Iggel (Iggy/Angel) next… –Is glared at by the entire Eggy/Niggy/etc. fanbase– Okay, I guess not… Kidding, _**I'm totally writing Iggel next!**_ :D

*Cough*

I should kidnap Iggy… 'cause everyone kidnaps Fang. Or maybe I should kidnap… _Patrick Stump_… Hmm… _That would be awesome. _Hell, I'd rather kidnap Jace from Mortal Instruments. He's so frickin' hot…

Anyway.

**ONTO THE CHAPTER! **

_**I PROMISE IT'S NOT 18 PAGES.**_

**Fallen **

**Chapter Seven: **_**She'll Destroy Us All Before She's Through**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"MAAAAX! I told you to remind me when I was supposed to pick up the kids!" I heard Iggy shout from across the room.

I woke up, jolting to a sitting position. My sudden awakening caused Fang to fall off from his spot on the bed. I started laughing at him as he started flustering around, alert and ready for action.

"Where – what – Max?" Fang stared at me, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Iggy kept pounding at the door. "MAX! Wake up!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"James?" Fang questioned, still completely puzzled.

"Fang?" I stifled a giggle, trying not to make fun of his silly face.

Iggy cut in. "MAX, GET UP!"

I sighed. "HI, IGGY!"

"MAX, OPEN UP!"

"HI, IGGY!" I exclaimed again.

"…James?" Fang was still sitting on the floor like the emo little boy he is.

_God, Fang, _my Ninja-Yuffie side wanted to say, _you're not supposed to sitting on the floor all emo-like. You're supposed to be all like "I like clouds and rainbows and bunnies and sitting on the floor all emo-like while dreaming about clouds, rainbows, ponies and bunnies."_

I forced myself not to burst out laughing.

"Fang," I grumbled, ignoring Iggy and my awkward thoughts.

"…Max?" He stared at me, a single eyebrow arching in question. I have _got _to learn how to do that…

"IGGY!" Said person burst through the door, making me and Fang turned our attention to him. "SO ANYWAY…" Iggy's eyes narrowed as he stared at me. "_You _were supposed to tell me to pick up the kids!" He glanced at Fang. "And _you _aren't supposed to be sitting on the floor all emo-like!"

I glanced at the clock, attempting to refrain myself from laughing at Iggy's second comment. It was 4:45PM. "Did you?" I noticed Fang ignoring his comment too, but he did it for other reasons. Hehe.

"No! Nudge walked them here!" Iggy grumbled, crossing his arms.

"…They could sue you for irresponsibility, I think," I said, grinning.

Iggy stared at me, probably not hearing the sarcasm in my voice. "Really? Deity, Angel would do perfectly in court… Scary thought."

I noted he had said 'Deity.' "So… you _can _see Fang?"

He nodded, waving at Fang. "Yup! I'm so cool, aren't I?"

"No," Fang and I replied at the same time.

I glared at him just as he simultaneously glared back at me, both of us shouting at the same time.

"Dammit Fang!"

"Dammit Max!"

"Stop stealing my lines!"

"Stop stealing my lines!"

Iggy giggled his weirdly girly laugh and almost doubled over. "Oh, _wow. _No wonder the Chief made _you _her Protector," he said in between chuckles. "You two are, like, _perfect _for each other!"

"No we aren't!" Fang and I shouted, turning our glares toward Iggy, again, at the same time.

He held his hands up, as if trying to guard himself from something – or some_one _– dangerous. Which we probably were. Hehe. "Whoa, calm down, lovebirds." Okay, we most _definitely _were not _that_.

"James," Fang growled, his fists rolled up into balls. His onyx eyes were narrowed dangerously and the way he bared his teeth – fangs – made him look like a tiger. Or a vampire. I like the vampire idea better. But not sparkly vampires like that _Twilight _crap or whatever it's called. 'Cause that's just… wrong. If he were a vampire, it'd make sense that he wore a lot of black and had really pale skin. Maybe he wanted to suck blood. Hmm. That's something to think about. I mean, _come on, _his name is _Fang._ _Okay, okay, _back on topic.

Iggy blinked and cocked his head to the side. "Yeah?"

"Never."

That single word seemed to drive shivers up my spine – Iggy's too, by the looks of it. "Okay… okay. Calm down, Vampy," he muttered, shrugging. "But just know I know that you know that I know that you know that you love Max –" He raised his arms and extended them as far as he could. "– thiiiiiiis much." Um… How many "Know's" was that?

"…_Never._"

His sea-blue eyes filled with amusement shifted to anxiety… or the 'I'm-shitting-my-pants' scared look. Whichever you think is funnier. "Okay. Okay. I'm going," Iggy grumbled, turning his back on us. "I know when I'm not wanted! JEEZ. IGGY WANT LOVE TOO!"

As Iggy left, Fang stood up and slammed the door shut, rubbing his temples. "What is he, Bruce Banner?" Fang muttered, sighing.

"I actually wouldn't be surprised if Gazzy blew Iggy up, and Ig turned green," I put in, shrugging. "So, Fang, about Iggy –"

"MAAAAAAAX!" came a high pitched feminine squeal from outside the bedroom door.

I clasped my hands together excitedly, losing my train of thought on questions to ask about Iggy. "Yay! It's Angel!" I glanced at Fang. "You! Go lock yourself in the closet."

His eyebrows knotted together. "Huh? Why me? And why _the closet?_"

"Go!" I hissed, using my hand to shoo him off. "Go, go!"

"You do realize I'm invisible to non-Starlight slash Fallen Ones slash people who don't have the Sight, right?" he muttered, trudging his feet to the walk-in closet.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Just go… cut yourself or sulk or something, emo boy."

"I'm not emo," he muttered. Could've fooled me. He turned around and grabbed the door to the walk-in closet, almost closing it. "I mean, watch. By the time you're done talking to Angel, I'll already have jacked off a few times to the panties you have in your –"

I cut him off, feeling my face heat up in embarrassment. "Fang. Out. Of closet. Now." _The hell is wrong with that boy? _"Don't you dare get close to a pair of my panties –"

"_You're _the one who wanted me to stay in your closet –"

"_FAG. OUT._"

"You said _'Fag' _you meanie!" He stepped out of the walk-in closet and glared at me, his arms crossed.

"Fang –"

"Ooh, is Fang another one of your imaginary friends?" Angel cut in, slamming the door open. She sprinted toward me and the world shifted to slow motion. The cute, little innocent girl was running to my bed and jumped up, ready to pounce my stomach.

I held my hands up, hoping she wouldn't drop on my stomach. "A-Angel! Don't! My stomach – _oof_…"

She flopped onto my stomach with a happy shout and I groaned in pain. "Yay!" Angel wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me tightly. "I missed you, Max! Iggy said you weren't feeling well," she explained, concern and worry clear as day in her bright blue eyes.

I blinked in confusion. Um. Wasn't I _stabbed _earlier? I looked at Fang while pulling my arms around the younger girl. I told her, speaking half-honestly, "Well, I'm feeling better…" Fang smirked mysteriously. "I _guess._"

"Eh. It's a Starlight power. I can take your pain and make it mine," he explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Could've said that earlier," I grumbled under my breath, pressing my nose to Angel's bright blonde hair. "Oh Angel. I missed you."

She giggled and squeezed me tightly, making me yelp. It reminded me of how she pretty much carried Iggy onto his bed by herself the first day we met. "I was _so worried!_" Angel started bouncing up and down on my lap, getting me to be nauseous.

"Angel, Angel, Angel, stop, stop, stooooop!" I groaned, my head whirling around.

Angel suddenly halted. "Huh?"

I took a deep breath and forced myself not to throw up. "So, uh, how was school?"

"Oh it was _horrible!_" she exclaimed, pouting. "Iggy forgot to pick us up and Nudge had to walk us home! She was talking our _ears off _the whole time!"

"Our? Huh? Who's Nudge?"

"Gazzy was there too!" She sighed and leaned against me. "Nudge can _talk _so much!"

I rubbed her head softly. "Who _is _Nudge, anyway?"

Angel gasped. "You don't know _Nudge_? She's the most talkative 8th grader at school! _Everyone _knows her!"

"Well… I don't."

Fang snickered under his breath. "That's because you're anti-social."

"Shut up, emo boy," I retorted, forgetting for a split-second that Angel couldn't see him.

Her ears perked up at my comment. "Are you talking to an imaginary friend again? Wait, aren't you too _old _for imaginary friends?" She cocked her head to the side in interest.

"Oh Angel," I muttered, stroking her curly tufts of hair softly, trying to think of something that would make her believe me. "Well, you see, when you're at my age –"

"HEY ANGEL!" shouted a new, feminine voice I couldn't recognize. I let out a sigh of relief at being cut off, even if this person sounded way too shrill, loud and close by. Not mention I couldn't even _see_ her yet. "ANGEL, ANGEL, ANGEL! YOU GOTTA COME DOWN HERE! I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU DON'T COME HERE RIGHT NOW, I'LL GET THE BOYS TO PUT YOU IN ONE OF THEIR EXPERIMENTS!" The owner of the voice coughed uncontrollably for a few seconds. "Remember the last time it happened? It was really funny! BUT SERIOUSLY, GET DOWN HERE! BIG BANG'S COMING TO AMERICA AND THEY'RE DOING ANOTHER TOUR! WE GOTTA GET TICKETS! I'm calling Iggy right now –" Judging from the annoyed sounds and grunting, I assumed that this person was dragging Iggy from his room – either that or… the other suggestion isn't very… mature. Hehe. Gutter-time.

Angel's ears perked up again, making me imagine her as a dog… actually, that's not really a good thought either. "Ooh, Big Bang! Let's go!" She tugged on my arm and hopped off of my lap. "Doesn't every girl love Big Bang?" she asked, referring to my disgusted expression.

"Um, no. I don't like K-Pop. Sorry." I scratched the back of my head, trying to smile.

She shrugged and sighed, her shoulders slumping forward dramatically. "I guess not every girl likes them…" With another dejected sigh, Angel trudged out of my room, dragging her feet. She closed the door behind her slowly, but I felt the sadness in it. Even if she _was _just acting.

It reminded me of… _Jeb._

I shivered at the thought. I never wanted to call that memory up ever again in my life. It was just too painful to remember, especially for Jeb, but that memory cut me deep too. "God…" I looked up to see Fang's onyx eyes staring at me in worry. "…What?" His eyes were so deep and mysterious, I felt like I could get lost in them for hours, not caring for an exit. _Ooh. _I could be _a poet._

"...You'll be okay," he murmured softly, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall closest to the veranda.

I hung my head, a woeful smile on my face. "…Thanks, Fang."

"Yeah. No problem."

With a sigh of relief, I whispered as quietly as I could, "Fang, I'm glad you're my Protector." I looked down at my hands, but couldn't help sneak a glance at him.

He raised his eyebrow, his eyes widening. "…You really think so?" he finally said after a long moment's silence.

I turned my head to the side, appalled at the fact that he actually heard me. "I-I didn't say _anything!_"

Fang chuckled and shrugged. "Whatever you say, _baby. _Just remember all of the memories we have together will always be stored –" He pointed at his temple. "– Here."

"…Inside the empty space in your head where your brain should be?" I asked, trying to act as innocent as I could. Of course, knowing me, I could never pull off the Angel-innocence act, but I did my best, which, in reality, wasn't that great anyway.

His eyes narrowed in what looked like playful anger. "You're one to talk. At least I _have _something in this… empty space." He chuckled at my maddened expression. "Unlike you, who has nothing but a black void in her head – DOWN, MAX!"

I had lunged at him from the bed without thinking. It was weird. With unusual grace and speed, I jolted up from my bed, crouched down and sprang at him. Within seconds, I pinned him against the wall, not even realizing what I had done. "…Uh… Huh?" I stared at him, my eyebrows scrunching up in confusion. Did I _really_ just do that?

He blinked a few times before chuckling and slowly prying my tight fingers from his shoulders. "You should do that more often. I nearly got a hard-on from the adrenaline!" Fang laughed again and pushed me backwards gently.

I stumbled backwards, slowly comprehending his words. As soon as they made sense, I saw red again and kicked him where it counted. "Oh yeah? Got a hard-on from _that…_ _baby?_" I started giggling as he crumpled onto the floor, clutching at his crotch area.

"God_damn,_" he growled, wincing in pain.

With a smile, I crouched down and held my hand out for him. "Not so pretty no more, are ya?" I teased.

Fang sighed and took my hand, reluctantly letting me help him up. "How come I never meet any nice girls?" he muttered, adjusting his pants and smoothing over wrinkles in his shirt and pants. "I recall you wanting to ask about Iggy."

I nodded. "Yes sir," I agreed, saluting. "I wanted to know how Iggy became a Starlight Angel… So, what happened to him? Why is he one now? And why can't I see any wings?"

Fang glared at me. "Three too many questions, Max."

I laughed hesitantly, my voice coming out shaky. "I… Sorry. Habit."

"I know." His voice was dangerous. Whew. It made shivers run up my spine. "Try asking it again."

With a huge, forced smile, I stared at my Protector. "Why are _you _a Starlight member?" I looked at him jokingly.

Fang tensed and glared at me, his fists balled. "_Get off this topic right now Max, or I'm going to hurt you._"

My body naturally tensed at the anger boiling in his voice. ""I-I'm sorry," I managed to gasp, flinching. "I, um, didn't know… it would be sensitive."

Fang relaxed and fell onto the bed, his fingers tightly rubbing the sides of his temples. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed, frowning. I sat down next to him and cautiously placed my warm hand on top of one of his. His skin was smooth, but icy cold as if he didn't have blood circulation. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, I searched his wrist for a pulse. I finally found one, but it was very faint. I guess angels didn't need too much blood. Or at least Fang didn't… Or maybe he was a vampire deprived of blood. There's always _that_ possibility! …I think.

Fang sighed again at the soft contact of my hand, letting his fingers fall unto my lap. "Oh Max," Fang whispered softly, clenching my hand tightly. "Max, do you know how Starlight Angels get kill – become what they are?"

I shook my head and gently stroked his hand, staring down at the veins protruding from his skin. "No…" Hesitantly, I peered down into his black iris, only one of his beautiful onyx eyes revealing itself as his bangs fell over his other. I searched for emotion, but all I found was helplessness… and an empty void of a broken heart.

"We… All of us were killed in ways that weren't natural… or pleasant," he murmured, his eyes closing. "All deaths of the Angels are painful and normally they –" Fang cut himself off, as if he was… trying to _compose_ himself. "And… I… Well, Max, it's… It's hard. To see someone else die in front of your eyes – e-especially when you can see _yourself _die…"

With a hard squeeze, I leaned down to pat his shoulder, staring into his dark eye. "I'm sure it's going to be all right, Fang," I said quietly, still not fully understanding this conversation. "We don't have to talk about this anymore."

Fang smiled up at me, the smile looking... _genuine._ "You know, Max," he muttered in a brighter-ish voice, "Sometimes you're not so bad. I mean…" The hand I was holding rose up and wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer to him. I sighed deeply, pressing my face to his shoulder. "I guess… I'll be able to stand you."

I lifted my head from his shoulder blade and looked down at him, smiling. I brushed the bang out of his eyes with one hand, allowing me to see both of his beautifully depressing black irises. Our faces were much closer this time and I felt the sudden urge to –

_ Wait, _Rational Max cut in. _What. The fuck. Are you doing, Physical Max?_

Irrational Max started laughing. _Isn't it obvious? She's going to _kiss _him!_

_ Oh. _Rational Max was quiet. _Well… Okay then._

_ …No counter-argument, Rational Max?_

_ …No. No counter-argument, Irrational Max. Irrationality wins_ this_ time, but I assure you, I will be back…_

I felt myself swallow down a lump in my throat and lean closer toward him, my eyes still fixed on his. His breath was soft against my lips and I could almost feel my heart pound against _his _chest. God, could he hear it? It sounded so loud to me…

A smirk was on his face and his eyes stared into mine, unknown emotions surfacing to his irises. Fang softly caressed the back of my neck, his calloused fingers freezing against my over elevated body temperature. His head lifted closer to mine and I knew what was coming.

He… Fang… My Protector… He was going to kiss –

"HEY!" The door slammed open and Fang shoved me off of him and onto the floor, making me land on my butt painfully. I looked backwards from my position on the floor and saw Iggy with a plate of hamburgers on his hand. "Eh?"

I scrambled up and averted my eyes to the floor, feeling the blood rush to my face. "Hi Iggy…" I glanced up and saw him cocking his head to the side.

"Uh… Did I interrupt something?" Iggy turned his head from us and scratched the back of his head with his free hand. Also with that free hand, Iggy shut the door, probably realizing that any of the kids could come around.

Feeling a displacement of air behind me, I knew Fang was up and about. "No. Nothing. It was absolutely nothing," he replied, sounding as if his teeth were clenched tightly. "What do you need, James?"

_Nothing? _I wanted to scream. _You brush _that _off as _NOTHING? "Yeah," I agreed reluctantly, feeling myself blush again. "Yeah, just nothing."

Iggy looked at us curiously. "Uh. Okay. Um. Anyway. I have information. On. A. Um." He stopped talking, which made me glance at Fang. Fang was glaring at Iggy hard. "Would you stop looking at me like that, Fang?"

Fang opened his mouth to say something, but glanced my way and apparently decided against it. "My apologies, Iggy," he muttered, his eyes looking downward. "So, um… Please, continue with what you were saying."

With a shrug, Iggy said, "I don't know what's going on between you two but I'm not liking it." He placed the plate of hamburgers on the desk, sighing.

In response to that, I _thought _I heard Fang say, "That makes two of us…" I hoped it was my imagination… then again, this is _Fang _we're – never mind.

"So, Iggy, what were you talking about?" I prompted, shifting uncomfortably in the awkward silence. "Sorry about the interruption."

Iggy tried to smile. "Yeah, it's alright," he replied, shrugging. "So, anyway, I have information on more Fallen Ones."

Fang's eyebrows shot up. "What? Where?"

"Slow down, cowboy," Iggy chuckled. "I'm getting there. So you know how the girls are obsessed with K-Pop, especially that Big Bang group?" His question was pointed more toward me.

I stared at him blankly. "Yeah… So?"

"James, continue. Max won't get it very quickly," Fang said, sounding neither sarcastic nor angry. He was simply trying to move things along, but that still made me mad.

"Fang, I'm not stupid. Iggy, keep going."

"Max, I'm not implying that you're stupid –"

"Yes you are and I don't appreciate it!"

Fang sighed. "In fact, you're actually a very intellectual person."

"Are you _mocking _me?" I glared at him, trying to put on my angriest face.

He raised his hands. "I don't want to fight you anymore. If that's what you think, then sure, I'm mocking you. But I'm telling you, Max, with the Deity as my witness, that is not my intention at all." Fang looked sincere, his deep black eyes showing a flash of emotion.

Iggy cut in. "Both of you, stop fighting. Right _now._" His voice was dangerous, something I thought I'd never hear from the carefree Iggster. "Okay?" I glanced at Fang, my eyebrows scrunched up in an apology. Fang nodded and we both turned back to Iggy. "Good. We're all friends now." He let out a deep breath, as if he was holding that in the whole time. "Now then. Max."

I nodded. "Yes?"

"You know Big Bang, right?"

I nodded again. "Yeah. Angel and that other girl are totally into it, right?"

Iggy gave me a thumbs-up. "See, Fang? She's not stupid," he told Fang with a chuckle.

I stuck my tongue out.

Fang sighed. "As I said, I wasn't implying that she was –"

"And Max, sometimes you should listen to Fang," Iggy interrupted. "He's a smart guy most of the time and he'll totally back you up."

Fang glanced at me, a victorious grin on his face. I knew he wanted to mock me or make fun of me, but he didn't, fortunately. I turned back to Iggy.

"So I hope that you two understand my position on this," Iggy grumbled, pouting. "I don't like being torn between two friends. I want you both to make up."

With an annoyed huff of air, I nodded and turned to Fang. "Truce?" I asked, holding my hand out as he glanced at me.

He shrugged and nodded, taking my hand and shaking it. "Sure." Our hands dropped, making me feel a little empty. Just a few minutes ago, Fang and I were _this _close to kissing – or whatever he was trying to do – and now we were back to awkward Protector and… whatever I was.

Iggy laughed. "Okay, now that we're all friends again, let's get down to business!" He grabbed the plate of hamburgers and threw one at Fang. I watched him as he got smacked in the face with the hambur –

_THUNK!_

"Ow," I grumbled, feeling the warm heat of the burger sliding down my face. "That, sir, was both unsanitary and stupid." I shook my head around, letting the burger fall to the ground. Fang chuckled. I started to glare at him, but burst out in a fit of laughter, as I saw what he was doing. "You're actually _eating _it," I snickered, smiling.

He shrugged and took another bite of the burger, apparently not noticing the grease spot on his cheek. "If it's edible, I'll eat." Fang bit into it again and ripped it apart wildly, but graciously. That sounded like an oxymoron.

"_Edible?_" Iggy repeated in horror. "_EDIBLE? _Just _edible? _Not amazing or fantastic or amazing or fantabulous or amazing or IGGYRIFIC?"

"You said 'amazing' three times," I told him, smiling.

"And 'iggyrific' isn't a word," Fang continued, finishing his burger with a huge bite. He gently licked and sucked his fingers, shrugging when he saw me staring at him.

Iggy threw his hands up in frustration. "This is why _I hate _talking to you guys," he muttered. "Both of you team up on me like you're on the same wavelength – you guys are _always _on the same wavelength! It's no fun!"

I shrugged. "So what about Big Bang, anyway?" I prompted again, hoping to finally get some answers.

"They're coming to America," Iggy answered.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Nudge made that very apparent."

"No, they're… Almost all of their members are Fallen Ones," Iggy explained, blinking.

Fang didn't look surprised. "So? What's this got to do with us?"

"Their first concert will be in Hollywood…" Iggy's voice trailed off. "So –"

"You better not be suggesting we crash their concert and kill them."

"– So we should crash their concert and kill them."

"Of course."

I looked back and forth at them. "Are you guys really going to do that?" I sat down on my bed, watching their exchange.

Fang shrugged. "Fallen Ones must be killed." His eyes narrowed and he stared at Iggy. "How, exactly, did you know that this K-Pop group was full of Fallen Ones? They don't seem like candidates to be have become that way."

"Nudge said so. She said she heard them talking about 'killing Guardian Angels' while backstage," Iggy added. "She also told me she heard your name being said." Iggy stared at Fang suspiciously. "Have you killed any Korean superstars recently?"

"Other than Taeyang back in 2012? No." His voice was cool and nonchalant. Um. He _killed _a Korean pop star? _SERIOUSLY?_

Iggy's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "_What? You _were the Angel that killed him?"

Fang shrugged in response. "Yeah. Vince was assigned the job, but he asked me if I could take over."

"_Whaaaaaat?_" His eyes seemed to opened even further. "_Vincent's _back?"

"You've been in retirement for far too long, Iggy," Fang murmured, glancing at me. "Max looks lost. Let's backtrack."

"No, no, continue," I insisted, gesturing them along. "It's alright. You guys seem like you're on a roll."

Fang shook his head. "_Nein, __Fräulein__ Madeline,_" he said quietly, a frown on his face. "…Ah, I mean, um…" His voice trailed off and he turned away, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Iggy laughed and hit Fang on the head. "Oh Fang. Swooning ladies with his very limited German. How is it that _he _always gets the chicks? Come on. I can play a _mean _fiddle."

I cocked my head to the side, believing it was more than a 'Fang wants to _wow!_ me' moment. "Umm…" I let it go. Fang didn't look like he wanted to talk so I wouldn't force him.

"Excuse me for my German," Fang muttered, still not making eye-contact with me. "Iggy, would it be too much to ask if you could do this mission with Nudge –"

"Fang, I'm retired," Iggy reminded. "I… I can't. You know that. I've given up fighting." His voice was saddened and quiet. "

Fang's eyebrows scrunched up in annoyance. "Fine." In a different language that I eerily understood, he hissed, "_Find someone else to help you. I'm not risking Madeline's life._"

"Who's Madeline?" I asked in curiosity.

Fang and Iggy tensed at the same time. That _probably _wasn't a question I should have asked.

"I'm sorry!" I exclaimed. "You don't have to answer that, I won't hold you to it, _I'm sorry!_"

"Made – Max, calm down," Fang assured me in a soft voice, speaking in English. "It's nothing that you should worry about. Don't think about it, okay?"

Iggy sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'll go ask Nudge. She'll know what we should do."

Fang chuckled, hopefully returning to his normal-er self. "That's a funny way of putting it."

"She may be talkative and idiotic, but she's older than me," Iggy muttered.

"In Starlight years, yes, otherwise, no, you're older than her," Fang replied, shrugging. "Anyway, no matter what conclusion you two end up with, I refuse to leave Max's side."

Iggy nodded. "I get it. The whole Protector and his Ward thing, right?"

Fang shot a glare at Iggy. "You know what I mean, Iggy. It's…" He looked my way before continuing. "It's… closer than that."

"Right, right," Iggy said. "It's 'cause you two have been through _so _much together." His voice was completely sarcastic. He stepped backward toward the door. "Anyway, I'll leave you guys to it. Don't fight, okay?"

"Yeah," Fang and I said at the same time.

"Who's Nudge?" I suddenly asked as Iggy opened the door.

Iggy winked. "I'll bring her up here later. Remind me to find the restraints and the muffle though."

"…Huh? Is she that loud girl that was screaming earlier?" I wondered.

Fang nodded and gestured Iggy to leave. When Iggy finally left the room throwing us suspicious looks, Fang sighed in relief and sat on the bed next to me. "Yeah. Nudge is a loud person, but she's a good Angel."

"So she's another Protector?"

"Mm. Yeah."

"…Oh."

"What's up?"

"What was that name you said earlier?" I asked cautiously. "You don't have to answer," I added.

Fang looked up at the ceiling and then back at me. "Madeline."

In the back of my mind, that name rang many bells but I don't remember meeting anybody named that. "Hmm…" Suddenly, it occurred to me. "Oh! There was this really good book I read recently by a girl in the 50s named _Madeline Brewer!_" I turned to Fang, who was as relaxed as he was earlier. "Does that ring any bells?"

He shrugged. "Nah, not really."

"Darn." I stared at Fang for a little longer, but then turned my attention to my hands, mindlessly picking at hangnails. "Was your Madeline important to you?"

"Yeah."

"Did you love her?"

"…Yeah."

I felt a pang to my chest. "Oh, I see." I turned my head to the right, trying hard not to glance at Fang. I felt him staring at my back, but I refused to turn around.

"…No, not in that way, Max," he said quietly, resting his hand on my shoulder. "She was one of my Wards… I couldn't protect her."

_Now _I turned to face him. "You… couldn't…?"

His eyes were darkened with hate and regret. His lips were set in a straight line, blanching around the edges, which showed how angry he was. "No. I couldn't. I'm sure she hates me up there for it."

I frowned and stared at him, putting my hand on the hand that was holding my shoulder. "Fang, if I were that girl and you couldn't protect me, I wouldn't care," I told him honestly. "I'd be happy that you tried your hardest, even if in the end I still died. I'm glad you're my Protector." _God. _Cheesiness to the max. (No pun intended.)

Fang smiled sadly. "Thank you, Max," he whispered quietly. "I appreciate that."

"Anyway, we should lighten things up a bit! I don't like this unhappy aura one bit!" I exclaimed in my happiest voice. "Come on, tell me about what you've done in your past, Fangy!"

He sighed, but smiled much wider this time. "She'll destroy us all before she's through," he muttered quietly, probably thinking I couldn't hear it.

"And she'll find a way to blame someone else," I finished for him, hitting him atop the head. "I'm not deaf, nor am I screaming infidelities. Or getting cut from a team."

He laughed softly. "You caught the references. Good job." His hand pressed softly on top of my head and he rubbed it gently. "Now then. Where do I start?"

"How about the very beginning?" I suggested, not realizing at the time how painful it was going to be for him.

Fang shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

I leaned into him and pressed my head against his shoulder, leaning on him, bringing my blanket up around my body. "Okay, Grandpa, I'm ready for a bedtime story!"

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around me, his hand resting on my waist. "Let's see… It was a dark night during the French Revolution in 1797…"

**(end of chapter seven)**

**Fax? Not Fax? Interesting? Awesome? Like it? Don't like it?**

**READ+REVIEW+UPDATE!**

**You know what to do! Read and review, read and review, read and review – YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO! **(Imagine that to Black 'n' Yellow.)

~ABH

_I have some homework for you readers:_

Google "_Ren Ichimoku_" (Jigoku Shoujo/Hell Girl)and tell me if you think he could look like short-haired manga-style-Fang (or if that's your fantasy of him).  
>Also, search "<em>Yu Kanda<em>" (D. Gray-man) and tell me if you think he could look like long-haired manga-style Fang (or if it's your fantasy). I've always thought both anime characters look eerily close to his manga style, though Kanda is somewhat more muscular than Fang and not as lookalike/act-alike-ish as Ren is to Fang.  
>I don't like Kanda too much. He's all right. xD I <em>LOVE <em>Ren. He's. So. Hot. In the anime, he _really _reminds me of Fang. Or the other way around. *O*

_**IT'S 15 PAGES.**_


	8. I'm the Kind of Kid that Can't Let Anyth

Changed my PenName! (Again) See note at the end of the chapter for more info.

As I mentioned in the last chapter, chapter title comes from Fall Out Boy's song, **My Heart is the Worst Kind of Weapon**. It's just for _you._

New Iggel story coming up… eventually. Minor Fax, character death.  
>Called "<strong>Will You Shoot Me in the Head?<strong>" It's a Sherlock Holmes style story. Someone dies and the "Sherlock of the Century", James "Iggy" Sparda is called upon to solve the case. When the case pushes him to his limit, will Iggy have to request help from someone he hasn't seen in years?

Tell me if it interests you. (:

I know it interests my beta reader.

**Fallen**

**Chapter Eight: **_**I'm the Kind of Kid that Can't Let Anything Go**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"The nights were long, the days were hellish and the rebels would never give up," Fang continued quietly. "At night, the only song you heard was the sounds of gunshots and people being killed. There were constant screams of terror. No one did much about it."

I stared up at him, frowning.

He smiled down at me, almost _woefully _as I snuggled closer to him, his arm tightening around my waist once my head found its place on his shoulder. "It was a tiring fight, but I was one of the lucky ones." I looked at him suspiciously, but he ignored my gaze, eyes staring blankly at the wall adjacent to us, as if he were reliving the memory. "I was a rich noble, sticking my nose into politics," he explained, shrugging, which made my head bounce around. "Doing all the things I did… was soon going to be the death of me." He was quiet for a few seconds, but didn't seem to want to talk.

I poked him in the chest sleepily. "Keep talking, Fang… Your voice is really pretty," I muttered drowsily.

Fang chuckled before talking again. "I was an arrogant fool. I wanted to drive the rebels back, but all that did was initiate my assassination… They…" He paused, his eyes narrowing in anger. "They _killed my wife… _Right in front of my eyes…" His fingers were tight on my hips, his icy cold fingers penetrating my shirt and chilling my skin.

"Y-Your wife?" I managed to mutter, shivering under his touch. "Was that… Um, Madeline?"

Fang tensed under me, but gradually relaxed. After a moment, he whispered, "Max, I… told you, I didn't love her in that way."

I think he was lying.

"But, anyway… She… was pregnant," he said softly, clutching me closer, though he still refused to look at me. "Seven months. Both of us were overwhelmed with joy…" I imagined a 35 year-old Fang smiling with a beautiful woman whose face was covered in shadows, her stomach bulging. "But… _He _came and took all my happiness away from me – for no reason at all. A gunshot. To her head. And then to me… To my heart – both literally and emotionally."

I lifted my head to look at him, but his head was still turned away, obsidian eyes glowing in anger. "Who is…" Suddenly, it clicked. "…he?" I trailed off, already knowing the answer.

"_He became a Fallen One by killing an innocent man and his pregnant lover during the French Revolution_."

Fang's voice: So sad. So angry. So… _nostalgic._

Pregnant lover.

French Revolution.

"_Ari Phoenix. Age approximately 400…_"

400 years – Fang's estimated age.

"_And Amano…_"

His voice trailing off, stopping himself from betraying any emotions.

"_She was an accomplice of Ari's to the death of that rich man._"

Rich man…

"_I was a rich noble, sticking my nose into politics._"

…Fang.

_That was Fang._

Ari and Lissa _killed Fang._

"_Ari _did this to you?" I shouted louder than necessary, my fingers tightening against his shoulders. "And_ Lissa?_"

Fang smiled an empty smile, regret all over his face. "_That's how I became a Starlight Angel, Fräulein,_" he whispered softly in that different language.

"Why are you speaking in German, Fang? And…" I stared up at him. "Why can I understand it?"

"_I'm sorry, Fräulein… I cannot explain,_" he murmured quietly, running his hand through my tangled hair. "I… Let's talk in English, _please_. And let's change topics. I don't… I… Madeline… She… You… That _tragedy _in France…" Fang shook his head fiercely, unable to complete any sentences. "I'm sorry. It's… a sensitive topic."

"You didn't have to tell me."

"You needed to know."

My eyes widened in a flash of thought, my body tensing in shock. A random memory flashed through my mind, but I couldn't recognize it as anything I actually… recalled…

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I couldn't see anything. The darkness engulfed me, no matter how hard I tried to see what was going on.

All I heard were voices speaking in German.

"_Fräulein, I cannot allow you access to the Master's bedroom…_" A soft, gentle, but commanding voice.

"_But he is my fiancé! I must be allowed to!_" A higher, stubborn, feminine voice that obviously would not give up.

"_Sebastian. Let her._" A low masculine voice, deep and husky.

"_But Herr Talor…_" The first voice… Sebastian.

"_Did you not hear my orders, saukerl?_" The other man. The 'Master.' "_Sebastian, I thank you for your thoughtfulness, but I would dearly enjoy a few words with my fiancée._"

"_Herr Talor…_" Sebastian's voice trailing off, obviously not wanting to give in. "_Yes sir. Of course. Excuse me for my intrusion, Fräulein, Kapitän._"

The scene shifted, though I still only saw darkness.

Only two voices were heard – the fiancé and fiancée.

"_Nicholas…_"

"_Yes, liebling?_"

"_Why… Now? Before our marriage…_"

"_I promise you, meine liebe, we will wed before I go…_" His voice softened. "_I must stop the one helping Hitler. The… Gefallen Engel…_" That low, husky voice trailed off for a moment. "_I will return… I promise to you, with meine Gott as my witness._"

"_In this life? Or do you mean…_"

"_Who knows? I may return to you as a battered warrior or as a reborn angel from the sky._" A soft sigh. "_But either way it turns out, I will be back, meine liebe, no matter what._"

"_Promise me_."

"_I promise. My love is only for you. My heart is unconditionally and irreversibly tied to yours, Fräulein._"

Silence.

"…_You didn't have to tell me. You could have left me alone, Geliebte._"

"_I could not leave you without telling, liebling. You needed to know._"

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

My eyes snapped open, perspiration dripping down my face lightly and I stared into Fang's onyx eyes, gleaming with worry. "Max… Are you alright?" he asked quietly, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Nicholas…?" I closed my eyes for a moment and replayed the scenes in my mind, trying to conjure up the voices of those two German speakers. "…I'm… in my room," I whispered cautiously, opening my eyes again to look at Fang more closely.

"Yes, you are," Fang agreed sarcastically, his thumb running over my temple carefully. "Where else would you be?" His eyes were confused, as if questioning why I had called him 'Nicholas.' I wonder…

I shrugged and crawled off his lap, ignoring the outrageous thought. "…So Ari _did _do all of that to you…"

Fang's hand touched my shoulder. "Yes. Though I don't regret it much. I was granted many lives after my human death by the Almighty Deity," he said quietly.

"So you've died more than once?" I asked in shock.

Fang tensed again. "I wasn't supposed to say that," he realized, covering his mouth with one hand.

"Oh… Sorry. I'll stop talking."

"I don't blame you, Max. You're really curious and it's not surprising." He leaned back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. "There's a lot that you should be thinking about. I mean, you've just been thrown into this crazy world with angels and Fallen Ones and everyone seems like they want to kill you, doesn't it?"

I nodded.

"It's scary. To be thrown into this world with no knowledge," he muttered quietly. "If you weren't so heavily protected, you would be dead."

I sighed. "That's nice to know," I murmured sarcastically. "I'm glad I'm alive though."

"I'm glad you are, too."

I smiled up at him and felt my heart leap for joy when he smirked back. The two of us sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company – or, at least, I was hoping the feeling was mutual. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Either way, I… sort of kind of enjoyed being around him… maybe.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I staggered out my bed with a groan, still sore after being thrown around in Atlanta, being shoved against a wall in school and being stabbed by my sister… in the course of three days. It was a new _fucking _record. "Oh…" I moaned quietly, trying not to fall down.

"Max…" Fang muttered, catching me by the shoulders. "You shouldn't be up and about just yet." His onyx eyes stared into mine, worry etched upon the hard contours of his face. "You still need rest."

"I-I don't need rest," I grumbled, pushing against him. "I need f-food. And drinks. Et cetera," I commanded, stretching my limbs a bit.

Fang picked me up and held me wedding style, making me go '_Mehph!'_ "I'll tell James to get you food," he told me quietly, placing me on the bed with much care. "Don't push yourself, Max. I care about you, you know."

"I wish you'd show it more," I murmured without thinking, staring up at the astronauts again. For some reason, at that moment, I wish I were on the moon, jumping around carelessly… with Fang next to me so he wouldn't be worried anymore. On second thought, that's just a weird a thought as imagining Fang skipping through flowery fields with cute fluffy bunnies… Lord, Deity, God, Zeus, save us all.

"I wish I did too," Fang mumbled.

"…Really?" I glanced at him, but his face was stoic and unreadable as usual.

Fang smiled emptily. "Yes."

I sighed. "Go get Iggy. I'm hungry."

He nodded. "Yes ma'am. If you need me…"

"Iggy's _right there, _Fang."

"…Don't hesitate to scream," he finished, his eyes narrowed. "I'm being cautious, Maximum. We need to be. For you." He said… _Maximum. _I couldn't tell whether that was a good thing or bad.

_In all honesty, when you don't know, assume it's bad,_ Maxie-poo, said Ninja Yuffie-Max.

_Well, you didn't know if Fang was good or bad, and assuming _he's _bad wasn't a very good idea was it? _Rational Max cut in.

_That made just about as much sense as Fang skipping through flowery fields with cute fluffy bunnies, _Irrational Max countered.

_Go with the flow, bro! Move with the groove! Take a chill pill! _another voice chimed. (Hippie Max, I believe. Ouch. Where has my mind been?)

_Who cares? Especially about the chillaxing! I love Fangy, _came a new thought. (I-Love-Fang Max?)

_Hey! You can't just outright tell yourself that! You need conflict in your life, I-Heart-Fang Max! _another new thought called in. (I-Hate-Fang Max?)

_Kill-Fang Max, that's no way to treat your future husband! _Heart-Fang Max exclaimed.

Irrational Max interrupted with, _Future husband? And I thought _I _was the irrational one!_

"Yeah, 'cause I'm a wishful thinker with the worst intentions," I muttered sarcastically, ignoring my inner voices. Why would he say 'Maximum'? He's been saying my nickname for a while… so why… _now? _Was there a reason for that? Was it bad? Did he do that because he didn't want to get any closer?

_Molehills, Physical Max, molehills, _Rational Max reminded.

Fang sighed, as if hearing my inner dialogue. "Actually, that's a perfect description of you," he said. "You… be careful, okay? I'll only take a minute." The door opened slowly. I wonder why he – oh yeah. He was invisible, so if the door randomly opened and one of the other kids saw it, it would be spooky. _Ooh. _Paranormal activities. "Okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

He nodded and closed the door.

As soon as he left, I hopped out of bed to the best of my ability and dashed to the two French doors and swung them open. I stepped onto the cool tiles and leaned against the banister.

Don't you just love twist endings when the bad guy/girl comes in the instant the good girl's alone?

I don't. _Hell no._

_ Especially _when _you're _the "good girl".

"Good Protector _he _is. No wonder he's died all those times."

I spun around only to meet angry eyes that obviously held a grudge against me. "Lissa?" Yes, it was Lissa. Her feet were balanced on the low roof of the apartment complex, and she was crouched down. She looked much angrier and ready for a fight, her red hair flaring just as much as her anger. That didn't look like the innocent Lissa Amano I met yesterday. A definite no-no. I shuddered at the next thought.

But this was the girl who helped _kill Fang _and his _lover. _

Better safe than sorry.

"Hi Max." Her voice was soft and sweet, but I knew better. As soon as I started to dash toward the open French doors, Lissa hopped down from the roof and blocked my exit, closing the doors behind her. "Where's my sweet Fangy? Is he around?" She shoved me toward the doors and flipped backwards onto the banister, balancing her feet onto that just as she had done on the roof.

I backed up toward the veranda walls, but felt the French doors behind me. _Crap. _They better not be locked…

"Mm… I suppose not. That makes me sad. We were in love, y'know," she whispered sweetly, jumping from the banister and stepping onto the veranda tiles. For a while, Lissa hopped back and forth from the banister and the tiles, as if mocking me. "But he gave me up for _you._"

I turned around and started tugging at the French doors but they were locked from the inside! Dammit… How could she have locked them? Was it a power? Or were the doors locked from the beginning? Gah! Either way, I was doomed.

"He was stupid," Lissa whispered quietly, stepping closer to me. "He gave _me _up. For _you. _YOU. You're not even _special. Blonde bimbo._"

I spun around, my jaw open. "Oh _no, _sister. You _did not _call me a blonde bimbo." You could call me whatever you wanted. I didn't care… normally. But a _bimbo? Come on._

Lissa giggled maniacally. "How the hell does Fangy love _you _more than _me?_"

"Why do you hate me?" I asked quietly, getting ready for a fight. Taking a deep breath, I relaxed and calmed myself down. I couldn't feel that Darkness thingy Mr. Valentine talked about before, which was a good thing because it wasn't interfering with my common sense.

"Oh honey, I don't hate _you. _I hate Fang _through _you," she cooed, smiling evilly.

"Uh. Why do you hate Fang, exactly?" I rephrased, blinking in confusion.

Lissa shrugged. "I have my reasons. Now then, how about I kidnap you so we can lure Fang into a trap?" she suggested, smiling cruelly.

"Not going down without a fight!" I exclaimed between gritted teeth, raising my hands slowly.

"Neither of you are going to fight each other today." I looked upward as a shadow loomed over me for a second. It soon landed in front of me, continuing to speak. "I won't allow it."

"Fang," I gasped in time with Lissa. _Ew. _Did I just say Fang's name in unison with _Lissa? Ewww… _I hope no one out there said, "Ya'll are like _sisters!_" Hell. To the _no._

His black wings stretched out to its full length. "Stay behind me, Maximum," he said softly. "And, as for you, Lissa," he growled, "Stay away from my Max – I mean, my Ward." Hehe. He just called me his – _wait. _He just called me his… Ugh. I'm killing him after this if neither of us is dead.

Lissa let out her cackle of laughter. "Oh yeah? Do you have a problem with me?"

"I will not allow you to hurt her."

"Hah! It's not like you could've protected her otherwise!" Lissa snickered. "I mean, think about it. When have _you _ever been able to keep your Ward –"

"This time is different," Fang interrupted. I dug my fingers into his shoulder and peeked over his broad figure, trying to look at Lissa. "Wrap your arms around my waist," Fang whispered to me. Hold on tighter."

"Why?" Even so, I still clung to his waist, pressing my face to his back. Ahh… There's that husky, masculine, sexy scent of Fang again. _God… _He smelled so good… Err. Did I just think the words 'husky', 'sexy' and 'Fang' in the same sentence? Damn you, Irrational Max.

"Watch." His voice brought me back to reality. He started to flap his wings hard, and I knew what was coming.

Lissa tried to cut in, "Don't you dare –"

"Let's fly, baby…" Fang murmured, jumping into the air. His wings rose and fell, making us float above the apartment complex and away from Lissa. "Hang on, Max, _hang on!_" I felt the wind blow around us as his moved swiftly, yet gracefully around us, propelling us higher and higher into the air. God, I'm getting nauseous just _imagining _the ground below.

"F-Fang," I moaned quietly, pressing my face as tightly as I could to his back. "F-Fang, I'm scared of heights!" As much as I loved birds and watching them fly, I could never stand heights.

Fang reached behind him and grabbed me, somehow pulling me around to his chest. "Shh, Max, trust me," he whispered into my ear, holding me close against him. "Just a minute… I'm only going to keep you up here for a minute…" His fingers ran up and down my neck and down my back, touching all the right spots. "Relax, Max, relax… Relax…"

"I-I am r-relaxed! I'm not… flustered… O-Or scared… O-or…" I pressed my face hard to his chest, clutching his shoulders tightly. "F-Fang… Let me down."

"Max, calm down, I'm right here, I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to let you get scared. I won't let you fall. I promise. I'm right here, Max, and I'm always going to be here to…for you." His face pressed into my hair and he took a deep breath. "Just trust me… I want to protect you – no, I _will _protect you. You might not understand it now, but you are important to my life. I need you just as much as you need me."

"Fang?"

"Just hold me. Like that." I gripped his shoulders harder and rested most of my weight on him. "I can carry you. I can hold you. We just need to wait and relax until Lissa leaves…"

"_Fang?_"

"Max, I want you to calm down." I was already feeling calm, but I was getting impatient. Stop. Talking. Fang. "Heights aren't scary compared to _so many _other things."

"Fang!"

He just kept talking…

…as if he was reassuring himself more than he was reassuring me.

I've never heard Fang talk that much. _Ever._

"I can't help being the way I am. I need you to believe me, Max, and I –"

"_Fang!_ Listen to me!" I felt him freeze against me. "Stop talking _for one second!_" With a whimper, I murmured, "Let me down. Just let me down. Please. _Please._"

"Can't." His voice was hard, yet worried. "Need Nudge. Take care… of Lissa." He couldn't seem to complete one sentence. "Bad to let you down."

"Let's land, then… Please, Fang?"

Fang sighed into my shoulder. "Max, I can't. We need to stay flying 'cause the Fallen Ones can't fly anymore…"

"Anymore?"

"Max, the Fallen Ones are Starlight Angels who've had their wings ripped from their backs in a rather painful manner," he replied. "I told you already." I faintly recalled him saying that, so I nodded. "I'm… sorry," Fang whispered in my ear softly.

"Sorry?" I repeated, pulling away to look him in the eyes.

His body tensed briefly, but it soon relaxed as he let out a sigh of what sounded like relief. "I'm going in."

"Huh?"

"Hang on _really _tight, Max."

"Huh…?"

In a split second, Fang tucked his wings into his back and plummeted headfirst toward the ground.

"_YOU TRY'NA KILL US?_" I heard myself scream at the top of my lungs.

**(end of chapter eight)**

German words:  
>(Mostly from my memory, but a few from Google Translate so excuse me for inaccuracy)<p>

_Fräulein - _Miss

_Herr – _Mister

_Saukerl – _bastard, pig

_Kapitän – _captain, master

_Liebling – _favorite, darling, love

_Gefallen Engel _– Fallen Angel

_Meine liebe – _my love

_Meine Gott – _my God

_Geliebte – _beloved

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(Chapter nine coming up in a few minutes/in a bit!)

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~Sketched Hero  
>Yes, I've changed my PenName again. I'm sorry! Reading <em>A Broken Heroine <em>over and over again made me feel guilty so I had to change it. D: Sorry!

Huge amount of thanks to my awesome beta, **Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute**! I know how much she loves my humongous monster chapters! xD

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	9. How Close is 'Close Enough?

Chapter title comes from the song **MakeDamnSure** by Taking Back Sunday.

Very, very, _very _miniscule hint to _Iggel _(Iggy/Angel).

**Fallen**

**Chapter Nine: **_**How Close is 'Close Enough'?**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"FAAAANG!" I screamed in his ears, clenching his shoulders tightly. I pressed my face hard into his chest, trying to imagine good, happy things instead of the two of us splattering onto the ground.

His hands held tightly onto my waist as we dropped through the sky – or it felt like that at least. Remember, my face is in his chest, breathing in the… Fangy scent… "Max, calm down. Just… Close your eyes and we'll be okay. Trust me."

I did as he said and sighed into his chest. "Faaaang…"

"Don't throw up," he whispered before… prying my fingers _off his shoulders?_

"WAAAAAHHH!" My eyes snapped open and I felt myself falling through the air slowly – until I felt a pair of a new, smaller pair of arms catch me. "FANG! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU –"

A feminine laugh filled the air and I took in my surroundings as I was let go. I realized I was standing on the veranda again, like before. "He-ey! Are you okay, Max? Gosh. Fang has _got _to work on what he does with his Wards. He should be _way _more careful 'cause if he was anymore careless, he could've dropped you on your head and you could've died, y'know? I mean, Fang's like, seriously, like, I mean –"

"Stop talking please," I interrupted, leaning my arms on the banister. "You're Nudge, right?" I turned around to look at her.

Standing in front of me was a mocha-skinned girl with dark chocolate eyes. Her black hair was tied into a high ponytail and she wore a white tank-top splattered with what looked like dried paint, as well as white skinny jeans, which contrasted nicely with her dark skin in addition to her really pretty white wings. Sort of like an opposite-Fang… They seem like polar opposites, actually.

"Yup!" she exclaimed in response to my question. "Everyone calls me Nudge. But my real name is Monique Angelo! I don't really get why people like calling me that. Well. Whatever." I rubbed my temples as she continued talking. "I'm another one of your Protectors! I'm, like, Fang's best friend and Iggy absolutely _loves _me, but for some reason he's always looking at Angel all doggy-faced and –"

I raised a hand to cut her off. Iggy looks at Angel like _WHAT? _"Why did Fang _drop me through the sky?_" I muttered quietly, trying not to imagine myself stabbing Fang in the face repeatedly. Although, I think I'd rather think about stabbing Fang than imagining Iggy and Angel… I shivered at the thought, not even _wanting _to complete it.

Nudge shrugged. " 'Cause he's stupid."

"…Eh." I could agree to that.

She took my hand in hers and opened the French doors, dragging me back into my bedroom. With a flick of her wrist, the doors closed and locked themselves, leaving me baffled. "It's a Starlight power. Hasn't Fang shown you that yet?"

I stared at her in awe, but felt myself change expressions to the realization that just kicked in. "So _that's _how he keeps getting into my room after I've locked the doors! You guys can unlock and open things, can't you?" _Wow. _In my head that sounded a lot less… stupid.

Nudge pouted slightly. "Yes and no. There are certain things that we _can _unlock, like your French doors for example. But other things… maybe, like, a bank vault or something precious as that we can't open since it's against the Starlight code. I mean, all Starlight powers have to be used for the greater good of the world. That's just how it works."

"I see." God. She talks _way more _than Fang on his talkative days. I'm scared to hear what she can do on _her _talkative days. Maybe today _is _a talkative day. I hope so… Today was like a half-talkative day for Fang. Speaking of Fang… "Where's Fang now?"

"He's trying to track Lissa down so you won't have to worry about her anymore," she explained, leaning back against the wall. "He… really hates her, y'know."

"Would you mind telling me about their past together?"

Nudge turned her head to the side. "I don't know if it would be okay for me to tell you about _Fang's _past…"

"He told me about Ari and Lissa… and um, how he died," I put in.

She took a deep breath. "I see…" Nudge was quiet for a while. "No, I can't. Sorry."

I shrugged. "I'll ask him about it later."

Nudge shook her head violently. "You shouldn't, Max. Fang's really sensitive when people talk about his past life… especially when it comes to Lissa. Those two were really close before. Fang's a nice guy, but he's had his mind and body put through so much torture through the hundreds of years he's been alive. I can't believe how he can choose to be reborn for more pain when he just ask to be retired like Iggy."

"Why is Iggy retired, anyway?"

Nudge shrugged. "Dunno. It's just his choice I guess. It's kind of like the time when we were at Five Guys and Iggy had to decide whether to choose a Little burger or a normal one, and then he chose. But _then_ he had to choose whether he wanted a cheeseburger or a bacon-burger, and that took a long time –"

"How about what you said about Fang?" I quickly prompted. "You said he chooses to be reborn even though he goes through… torture." I sat on my bed and looked down at my hands. I didn't understand anything. For some reason, I felt scared to ask… Something inside told me I shouldn't hear more of Fang's past, but I was too damn curious… I'm gonna make damn sure that he can't ever leave. Before telling me about his past, of course. Then he can be on his merry way… skipping through fields with a cute fluffy bunny… And the irrationality goes on.

"Just… Don't ask about Fang," Nudge muttered. "He's got a lot of problems that he doesn't want people to know about, especially the Fallen Ones."

I stared in confusion. "What… What do you mean?"

"If the Fallen Ones knew what happened to Fang in his past…" Nudge frowned as her voice trailed off, most likely trying to conjure up the best words to use. "Well, in short, they'll know Fang's weaknesses. And if they know Fang's weaknesses, then Fang… He'll be killed easier." She talked quickly, but she didn't seem to have much to say about him. Was she running out of words to say?

"What do you mean?"

"Well… Starlight Angels are nearly invincible. You've probably noticed that they're really, really, really hard to kill," she explained, nodding at my understanding expression. "So, the problem is, if the Fallen Ones know the ways that one specific Angel has been killed in a past life, it makes their job so much easier." Her eyebrows furrowed, probably at my still-puzzled face.

I shrugged. "I still don't understand."

Nudge sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "All right, so you know how Ari and Lissa were the ones who've killed Fang the first time, right?" I nodded. "They already know one way to kill _Fang – _a gunshot to the heart with a pistol from the French Revolution."

I finally grasped what she was rambling on about. "Since Fang's had so many past lives –"

"He's easier to kill," Nudge finished. She made a _hmph_ sound. "And they always told me I couldn't figure things out…"

I clutched the bed sheets tightly. "Why has he died so many times?" I whispered softly.

Nudge pouted again. "He's died trying to save all the Wards he… eventually loses."

My eyes turned up to meet her expectantly. "Like um… Madeline. Right?" _Wait. 'Eventually loses'? Does that mean…_

"Yeah. Like… Madeline." Nudge's voice trailed off and for once I wanted to hear her voice. Stop the thoughts from flooding my mind, stop the thoughts –

_I'm going to die too?_

"Could you tell me about her? Or is she sensitive to you too?" I asked hesitantly, trying to tug my mind off of what _might _happen. (Knock on wood.)

She shrugged blankly. "I never met her. She died before I became a Starlight Angel."

"I see." I watched in amusement as her body suddenly tensed up. "What's going on? Is there something wrong?" I touched the back of my neck just in case, but I knew that Lissa would be on my radar if Fang hadn't dealt with her already. Yup, someone was around.

"Fang's coming back. I can feel it."

"…What?" I touched my neck again. I was still feeling anxiety – was someone near Fang? "Nudge, someone else –"

She raised a hand. "I know. I feel it too." Her body never relaxed until Fang burst in through the _locked _French doors a few minutes later. "Fang," Nudge muttered, letting out a breath of relief. I jolted to a standing position, staring at the dark shadow that had appeared in my bedroom.

Fang nodded his acknowledgement toward Nudge. He turned to me, worry etched upon the hard contours of his face. (Weird. I feel like I've described him like that before.) His black hair fell over one eye again, but otherwise, his hair stood up all over the place. The turtleneck he wore was ripped to shreds, leaving the majority of his torso exposed. _Whew… _I wanted to whistle. God, he looked so… strong. And muscular! The clothes he wore must have hidden that in some way. He shouldn't hide it. I might have sort of been able to possibly call him sexy if he didn't wear clothes that hid his muscles. _Maybe._

"Max?"

I glanced up quickly, trying to stop myself from blushing. It didn't work. "Um, Fang… Are you all right?" I asked, holding my hand out to touch his shoulder. For some reason, I just wanted to comfort him by placing my hand on a part of his body. Fang quickly tensed and drew back, so I pulled my hand away. "Sorry."

Fang tried to smile, but shook his head. His body relaxed slowly and he stood closer to me, bending down slightly.

I didn't completely understand what was going on, but I still reached out to put my hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?" I asked again, running my thumb gently over what looked like a deep cut. It wasn't bleeding, but…

His hair moved up and down from my point of view, so I assumed it was a nod.

"What happened?" Nudge cut in. "Did you get Lissa?" Her voice was grim, as if she already knew that answer – she probably did.

Fang pulled away from me and turned to face Nudge. "No." His tone was angry and regretful. "Didn't know… that Dylan was around." Though it showed that he was mad, he was still panting, as if he couldn't regain his breath.

I raised an eyebrow. "Dylan?"

Nudge sighed. "Dang… That's not good. If they're grouping even closer, this is going to make protecting Max way harder…" She rubbed her temples softly. "Hey, I'm going to get a glass of water. Does either of you want anything?"

I shook my head.

"Alrighty then…" Her voice trailed off. "Fang." Suddenly, Nudge's voice had an air of superiority around it. I glanced at my Protector, whose head snapped up in attention. "Don't get angry, okay? Max is going ask some stupid questions." OBJECTION! (Insert finger point here.) They are _not _stupid!

Fang cracked a half-smile, but I knew it was forced. "Yes ma'am. I already knew that would be the case," he replied in a dejected voice. "Leave it to me." He saluted as Nudge left the room.

I sighed in relief and fell backwards onto my bed again. "Fang?"

The bed bounced for a few seconds, so I glanced to my left. Fang was sitting on top of the bed, his shoulders slumped forward. He held his head in his hands and was shaking it angrily. "I'm so… _stupid_," he whispered softly, his fists tightening until his knuckles blanched.

I sat up and hesitantly put my hand on his right shoulder. "Under normal circumstances, I would agree, but right now…" I contemplated what to say as my voice disappeared into silence. "What's up, Fang? _¿Qué pasa__?_"

"_No s__é__,_" he replied quietly, barely moving, save for his lips and chest.

"No, I mean… What happened out there?" I was… What was this feeling? Was I…

Scared?

Me?

_ Maximum Ride?_

Irrational Max snorted in my head. _That's worse than the thoughts _I _think._

_ For once, I agree, _Rational Max replied.

_No, that's the second time you've agreed, _said Heart-Fang Max. _Remember? I'm making kissy noises, if you didn't notice, Rational Max._

_Shaddup, _Rational Max grumbled.

"Lissa led me into a trap," he replied quietly, rubbing his chin softly. His voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Dylan was waiting for an ambush. I managed to get away from Dylan, but that just brought me back to square one. With Lissa. Except for the fact that I was battered and bruised…"

"Does it hurt?" I asked, squeezing his shoulder softly. "Are you hurting anywhere?"

Fang started to shake his head, but stopped. "Yes and no."

"Elaborate," I prompted, rubbing the spot my hand was touching, in what I hoped to be a gentle, relaxing massage.

"Physically, no. Mentally and emotionally…" His voice trailed off, the sound being our breaths and the soft sigh that leaves his lips. "Yes… I was utterly humiliated." He turned his head, only one of his onyx eyes visible. "Can you… stop touching me?" His eyes were filled with shame, but there was another emotion lingering around that I couldn't recognize.

I tensed, but pulled my hand away with a nod. "Sure, of course."

"I'm sorry. I hate physical contact," he said quietly, turning his attention back to his hands.

"Mmhm, I noticed," I murmured, leaning back to look up at the starry ceiling. I didn't understand why I loved wall – er, ceiling paper. Maybe it was because they looked so _free… _Unlike me.

Unlike _Fang._

"Max?"

My head snapped down to the sound of my name being called by such a handsome – I mean, my Protector. I didn't say handsome. _Ever. _"Fang?" I murmured, trying to hide a blush.

"Wh… What do you think about me?"

That question surprised me. _Completely. _Fang didn't seem like the type to worry about that type of thing. He never struck me as the type of guy who was… self-conscious. Many, _many_ surprises today… "Um… What do you mean by that?"

"How… How do I look to you?" he murmured softly, still staring at his hands. "What am I to you?"

I stared at his strong, muscular back, the bruises and cuts on his skin healing effectively. I glanced at his face, his hair falling over his eyes. His face and body were completely tensed, but all I really wanted to see were his eyes.

I began to scoot closer to him, but stopped when our shoulders almost touched. He didn't like physical contact… but who cared? Irrational Max certainly didn't. (In the back of my mind, I heard a naggy, _'Oh, of course I don't, dammit!'_)

With a sigh, I leaned over and took his hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. His back straightened and he stared at me, his onyx eyes wide. As soon as our eyes locked, I knew that we understood each other. Like Iggy said, were on the same wavelength. Again. Or maybe we just never _stopped. _Either way, it made my heart jump for joy.

I squeezed his hand softly and felt him squeeze my hand back. There was half a smile on his face, but that was good enough for me. Any slight flash of emotion was good enough for me. I grinned, knowing that no words were needed to express the mutual feeling.

"Fang," I finally whispered softly, putting my other hand over his, "That is a _stupid _question."

He raised an eyebrow, eyes gleaming in amusement.

"Of course you mean a heck of a lot to me, Fang! You're…" I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing out what had been on my mind for a while. "You're my friend."

The half-smile on his face broke into a huge smirk.

I think that was the first time I had ever seen him that happy.

As always, hell broke loose the instant Fang and I were friends again.

**(end of chapter nine)**

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The "OBJECTION! (Insert finger point here.)" was a reference to the _Ace Attorney_ series. It's a _great _video game. Play it!

~Sketched Hero

As always, thank you to **Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute **for the beta. Thank you to all reviewers, favoriters and readers in advance! I love you all… Kind of. Nah, not really.


	10. Because I'm 'Just Human'

Chapter title comes from the anime/manga, **Ga-rei**.

**Fallen**

**Chapter Ten: **_**Because I'm 'Just Human'**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I felt Fang tense, quickly letting go of my hand.

He had heard the voice too.

"_Darkness… From the depths of my soul, with help from the Devil below, let me summon you into the hearts of my enemies and show them the power of hate and malice so that they will fall and plead for the forgiveness that will never come._" An eerie, disoriented voice.

It was familiar though.

"Max, cover your ears! Maya – she's reciting her –" Fang wrapped his arms around my waist and I hastily gripped my hands over my ears. His lips pressed to my hand and I faintly heard him whisper, "Pay attention to me, Max… Only me… Ignore everything going on in the background. Imagine good, happy thoughts."

I pressed closer to him, forcing my eyes shut. "Fang…" I imagined me and him sitting atop a distant ocean cliff, letting our legs hang over the edge. The sun was setting in a beautiful way, the colors causing a riptide of emotion to course through my veins as our hands laced together lovingly.

"_Let me find your souls and pull you away from the lights that make you an Angel_."

"Fang…!" Something was constricting me. I felt like… the air I was breathing was compressing me against a rock and a hard place, leaving me in the center to be crushed.

"Max, please, focus on me! Only me!" Fang shouted desperately, digging his fingers into my waist. The pain helped me center my attention to him. I pulled my thoughts back to the sunset, watching as our heads turned toward each other, slowly moving closer together.

"_Let me rip off the wings that make you an Angel_."

But the feeling of claustrophobia was back.

"_Let me take the breath out of those that shield you._"

Fang squeezed my waist tightly, which made my fingers press against my ears even harder. What was Maya chanting? Some sort of curse? Her _words _made me want to throw up! I needed to throw up… Oh God… Help me.

"_Let me take the heart out of those who love you._"

"Fang!" I moaned, my body shaking in pain.

"Max… Calm down," he whispered in a strangled voice. I tried to call back the image of the sunset, but nothing was working. The scene appeared for an instant and then broke apart like a shattered mirror.

"_Let me take the life out of those that Protect you._"

I pressed my head hard against his chest, making him fall onto his back. As he bounced on the bed, the voice ringing in my ears grew louder. "Fang!" I shouted, forcing my eyes closed. Seeing nothing but darkness didn't help as all. It made the claustrophobia intensify to an even greater magnitude.

"Max," I heard him whisper, his arms wrapping around my waist again. "Max… I am here. I won't let her harm you. Ever."

"_Let me take my revenge on the one that killed me._"

"I won't let Maya hurt you. Ever. I promise," Fang told me as he gently pulled my chin up. His midnight eyes stared into mine and for a split second, I saw a slightly older, yet fully-matured man sitting in front of me. He had the same eyes, glowing with promise, love and passion, but his raven black hair was long and tied into a high ponytail, strands of hair falling over his face.

A half-smile appeared on his face and the Fang I knew returned to me.

For that single second, everything seemed fine.

Maya's voice caused the world to come crashing down.

"_Maximum Ride, your death is long overdue._"

I blacked out.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

_"Max, Maya!" Dr. M called in a tender loving voice, gesturing us closer to her. "Come on you two!" she scolded with a smile on her face, pushing us into our small light blue Honda Civic. _

_ Maya and I shuffled into the backseat, hastily buckling ourselves up. I glanced at my twin sister and she started giggling. "What's so funny, Maya?" I grumbled in a higher pitched voice, crossing my arms in annoyance. _

_ Maya turned to me and smiled wide, her blonde curls bouncing up and down as she sprang in her seat. "We're going to the park! And I'm gonna beat you in a race this time, Max!" she teased, sticking her tongue out._

_ I shook my head, laughing too. "No way! I'm _way _faster than you, Maya! There's no way you can beat me! I'm too fast!" I rebutted, uncrossing my arms and taking her hand in mine. This was one of the few times where I had actually been okay with physical contact and gooey emotions._

_ "Nuh-uhh!" Maya interrupted, squeezing my hand tightly. "The last time we raced, you tripped me! That's cheating!"_

_ "Nuh-uhh!" I repeated, trying to mimic her voice. "The last time we raced, you tripped on your shoelaces! That's _so_ not cheating!"_

_ "Uh-huh!"_

_ "Nuh-uh!"_

_ "Uh-huh!"_

_ "Nuh-uh!"_

_ "Girls!" Jeb called into the car, sliding into the driver's seat. "Stop fighting, the two of you!"_

_ Maya and I scowled at each other, our hands pulling away at the same time._

_ "Daddy, who's faster, me or Maya?" I asked, pouting. _

_ Jeb adjusted the rear-view mirror just as Dr. M got into the passenger's seat. "Uh, I dunno, kiddo," he replied, pressing his glasses father up against the bridge of his nose. "I think you're faster, Max."_

_ "Hah!" I stuck my tongue out at Maya and pulled the bottom of my eyelid down, making a 'pleehh!' sound. "Daddy thinks I'm a faster runner."_

_ "Yeah, but that's just _your _opinion!" Maya countered, frowning too. "Momma, who's a faster running person, Max or me?"_

_ Dr. M glanced back at us as Jeb started to drive to the park. She was quiet for a while, but shrugged. "Hmm… I think Maya's faster," she said after a moment, a thinking expression on her face._

_ "See! Daddy may think _you're _fast, but Momma thinks _I'm _fast… er!" Maya blurted out, giggling again._

_ "But what does that solve?" I exclaimed, crossing my arms stubbornly again._

_ "It's obvious! Daddy loves _you _and Momma loves _me!"

_"Huh! What do you _mean '_obvious_'_! At least I get Daddy's approval! _

_ "But Momma's approval is _soooo _much more important!"_

_ "No way!" I shouted in response, bouncing up and down in my seat as the car hummed along. "It doesn't matter who loves us more! I know _I'm _faster than you, Maya!" _

_ Jeb cut off our argument. "Both of you, quit with this argument! It's pointless!" I noted the stern look on his face and the way his knuckles blanched around the edges from my seat in the back of the car. "Both your mother and I love you equally."_

_ But the two of us knew he was lying._

_ Because half a year later, Maya and I were separated._

_ Due to the lack of love._

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Fang," I moaned, fseeling myself bounce up and down on what felt like… a shoulder? (No, not a dick, you dirty little freak! Um… Why was I thinking that? Uh… No comment.) "M-Maya…?"

A soft gasp rang in my ears. "Is she awake?" Her familiar voice brought back memories. That day at the park. Car accident. Funeral. Classroom. Being stabbed. It all came rushing back like a raging waterfall.

"Yeah." That was Dylan's husky voice.

"Good. Lissa, has Fang been…" Her voice trailed off. "…Taken care of?"

I heard a smacking of lips. "Mm… _Yeah_… I took _real _good care of… _Fang._" Wow. That sounded sluttier than… Dare I say it? Miss _Aensland._

"Okay." My twin sighed. "I hate this plan." She sounded scared, annoyed, but most of all, regretful. Of what, may I ask?

Dylan sighed softly, which made me notice that it was he who was holding me. My eyesight cleared, and I noticed that I was being carried backwards on his shoulder, fireman style. Dylan quickened for a moment and used his left hand to do something. "Don't worry about how you feel toward Max and Fang. Remember… Max is the enemy. She's the one who hurt you."

When the fuck did I intentionally hurt my own _sister?_

"It wasn't her fault… We were kids…"

Yes, Maya! I wanted to shout. YES! Come to the light side! We don't have cookies, but it's the right side to be on!

"Stop having second thoughts about this, Maya-honey," Lissa cut in.

NO! Don't listen to that damned Darth Lissa! She's _evil, _you hear me? _PURE EVIL. _(Um. Was this Star-Wars-Max? 'Cause I sure as hell don't remember ever being into_ Star_-frickin'-_Wars_.)

"Thanks Lissa… Dylan."

_NO! LISTEN TO THE FORCE, MAYA! I AM YOUR INNER VOICE AND I WILL SING CHRISTINA AGUILERA'S "THE VOICE WITHIN" UNTIL YOU FREAKING LISTEN TO ME! _God, where were all these references coming from?

"No prob, baby," Dylan purred, making a kissy noise. Oh Lord. How could I have fallen for the awkward kissy-face Fallen One freak? "How about a kiss for your sexy boyfriend?" Narcissist pig.

Maya sighed that all-too-familiar sigh. "Dylan, I'm not in the mood."

"Ew. Even if you _were _in the mood, I'd force you guy to _stop,_" Lissa grumbled in a sassy voice.

"Heh. You fantasize about Sam, like… Oh, I don't know, _ALL THE TIME, _sweetie," Dylan retorted sarcastically with a laugh.

"Oh, just _shut up!_" Lissa grumbled.

"She's awake, isn't she?" Maya asked softly.

I groaned in response. Why'd I do that? I think I was better off playing dead. "M-Maya…"

"Set her down." I felt myself jolt upward and then downward. "_Dylan! Gently!_"

"Eh. Fine."

My eyes closed the instant my back roughly hit the hard ground.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

Darkness.

Again. I'm getting pretty tired of this darkness.

"_General Valentine...__" _

"_Yes, Sebastian?__"_

They sounded like they had an American accent, but it wasn't as thick or different as the ones we had now.

Wait.

Sebastian...? The same voice and _name _from the last... memory... time... thing. But this voice, the General, sounded... depressed... but _also _from that other memory.

_"We're being surrounded," Sebastian told him in a kind manner… No, not kind. More like… _forced_ kindness. "There's no way out."_

_ "Hush. There's no such thing as 'no way out'."_

_ "But General… Your wife…"_

_ "She is not my wife." His voice was sudden and stern, and almost _disgusted _as the word 'wife'. _God. Narcissist pig. (This better not be Mr. Valentine… or… who knows what I'll do to him? I know. I'll _castrate_ the pig who said that.)

_ Sebastian sighed. "General Valentine, I assure you that your men have the capabilities to defeat these other troops, but your wife –" He paused, as if he saw something that caught his attention, but continued on as if nothing happened, "–is with the Confederates. Don't you want to save her, sir?" _Confederates, huh? The American Civil War…

_ "We need to save our forces for something more important."_

_ "She _is _important!"_

_ "No, she is not. She will not cost us thousands of troops. She is nothing."_

_ "She's your wife!"_

_ "She is not."_

_ "Nick Valentine." Sebastian's voice was cool and composed, but demanding. "Listen to me. I'm speaking to you as your friend, not your second-in-command. Your wife, your female, your girl, whatever you see her as… She is not _'nothing' _to you. You love her. She loves you. Can't you just think about this for a minute?"_

The darkness was quiet.

_"…Sebastian."_

_ "Yes, General."_

_ "I am speaking to you as your friend, not your general." His sentence was punctuated with a hint of sarcasm. "You are my closest friend and most trusted advisor. I will take you up on this offer. We'll try to save her to the best of our ability."_

_ "That's the Little Nicky I know."_

_ "…If you don't stop calling me that, I'm going to send you to the guillotine," Valentine muttered. In a louder voice, he boomed, "Troops! We're going to storm these damn Confederates and take back our dignity and show them what we're made of!"_

_ "We're also taking back your girl, but y'know, we can save that celebration for later," Sebastian added, snickering._

_ "I'm sending you to the guillotine."_

_ "But I didn't call you Little Nicky!"_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"…Eh? Little Nicky?" I repeated out loud, rolling around on whatever soft object was under me. Wow, whatever this thing was is _really _soft. I hope it's just a really fluffy bed and not someone's –

"She's awake," a voice breathed with relief.

Hmph… I think I'd rather be dead.

"Barely." That was a new voice – Sam? "Dylan, you handled the poor girl too roughly."

"Eh, who cares?" Dylan replied with a snort.

"I care!" Maya cut in. "She's _my _sister!"

"Heh. Well, no one else cares," Lissa interrupted, chuckling. "If you're the only one who cares… Five beats one, y'know?"

Maya groaned. "She's _my_ sister! And _I'm _leader!"

A soft, yet menacing growl was heard in the distance wherever we were. "You? _Leader?_" Ari repeated with a malicious laugh. "Oh _yeah. _The little pup gets to be King of the Jungle now, huh?"

"What's with the animal analogy?" Sam muttered.

"'Cause _I'm _the leader, you hear?" Ari boomed, letting out an angry roar with no consideration whatsoever to replying to Sam's comment. "You defy me, you die."

"Oh? You wanna try me, Phoenix?" Maya countered, her voice wavering slightly. I wondered if I were the only one who heard that.

"Yeah, Batchelder, let's do it," Ari agreed with a chuckle.

"Do you think by 'it' they mean 'have sex' or 'fight'?" I heard Dylan whisper to whoever was next to him.

Another voice giggled. "I think they want to have sex." Brigid._ Jones._

"Oh, heck no, techno," Dylan exclaimed, ruffling around wherever he was. "I ain't lettin' you rape my baby Maya!"

"Dylan, shut up! I'm not your baby, nor am I –"

My eyesight cleared the instant Maya was thrown to the ground with a loud _thump. _God… Ari was strong. But if he were blown away by Fang so easily like that… Goddamn. That meant that Fang was pretty strong… Scratch that, _really _strong.

"Maya!" Dylan called out, shuffling to kneel beside her. "You okay?"

"Get off me, Seymour!" she growled, shoving Dylan away and hopping to her feet. "I'm not done with you, Phoenix…!" Ari lunged at her and pinned her to the ground. "H-Hey! Get off!"

"Why the hell does Dylan love you so much? You've got nothing – no curves, no boobs… And you told me you and Max were twins!" Ari taunted, baring his teeth.

Maya looked as if she were at her limit. "Max may be better looking…" Her legs moved in a flurry and she rapidly hit Ari around, shoving him off of her. "But I'm the better fighter!" They both stumbled to their feet, Ari still more stable than Maya was.

I averted my eyes away from the fight. I didn't want to watch this. Instead, I looked around, trying to identify our location. If those two were able to cause a scene without being seen – unless they were invisible, like Fang – then we should be in a rural-er area than where we were.

We were on the beach. And my apartment was right there. Did they know that?

Ari and Maya were fighting in the water, waves splashing up to soak them as they punched and kicked at each other, trying to win over the other in this fight. Dylan stood nearby, hesitantly fidgeting with his hands, as if he wanted to help but knew he couldn't. Sitting on a log were Sam and Lissa, watching in boredom as if they had seen that every day. Lastly, Brigid sat in the sand, yawning and picking at her nails as the fight went on.

I was maybe fifteen feet away from them, but there was an obvious problem.

My legs and hands were completely hog-tied.

There's a perfect solution to this situation!

Go to sleep.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Spiraling… Spiraling…" I murmured, still half-asleep. I really felt as though I _were _spiraling around into an endless void of darkness. Oh Lord. Someone help me out here. I don't like the dark _at all _and I certainly don't like that Darkness thing that Maya seemed to enjoy using against me.

"Shh…" Familiar voice! But it was _friendly!_

"Fang?"

…Kind of.

"_SHH…_" he hissed, slapping my back. I was bouncing up and down on a shoulder again. God. What's with everyone and putting me on their _shoulder?_ I'm pretty sure I'm not a very light person. Super strength much.

"Ow… Don't hit me on the back!"

"Shut up, Max," Fang muttered. "You're going to get us into trouble, y'know that?"

"Sorry."

"You aren't. Now shut up."

"…Geez."

He kept moving, but I couldn't see. It was weird. Every time I woke up again, my eyes couldn't see a thing until after a few minutes. God. Three times in one day? The Darkness thingy making me fall asleep… Dylan knocking me unconscious by throwing me onto the ground… Falling asleep by myself while being hog-tied… What else could this damsel in distress get her ass into? An _ice cream _machine? (That would be really amusing to see, but not to be in.)

"Max…"

I groaned in response. I didn't want to risk getting hit by him again.

"…I'm… sorry I couldn't protect you…"

"Couldn't…? You saved me."

"If Ari and Maya weren't fighting… If Dylan weren't watching… If… I weren't on your trail…"

I did my best to hit him from my position above him. (God, that sounds kinky.) "I'm alive. I told you… being alive is fine with me, Fang," I murmured softly, leaning forward and pressing my head against his… back? I dunno. I was upside down.

"What if you were_ barely_ alive? What if they knocked you into a coma?"

"Fang, relax… I trust you. I believe in you. You're a good person. You can protect me," I whispered honestly, hoping that the wet spots under my eyes weren't tears.

"What if I can't, Max? You're just human… It's hard to protect someone who doesn't have –"

"Fang, I feel all of this understanding, all of this trust, all of this wonder and awe_ because _I'm 'just human'! You can't ridicule me for having these feelings," I explained, meaning every last word I spoke. "I believe in you, Fang."

Fang sighed and was quiet for a few more minutes, though it felt like years. "Max… Humans are so much easier to kill."

"That's why you're here. Because I'm 'just human'."

"What if I…"

"_What if I wanted to break?  
>Laugh it all off in your… face.<br>What would you do?  
>What if I fell to the floor?<br>Couldn't take this anymore?  
>What would you do?<br>Come break me down…  
>Bury me, bury me.<br>I am finished with you.  
>…Look in my eyes.<br>You're killing me, killing me.  
>All I wanted was you."<em>

"Fang, no more 'what ifs'. It's better to focus on what _will _happen, not what _could _have happened." I shivered involuntarily, remembering lyrics sung to me a long time ago. _The Kill. _30 Seconds to Mars.

"You're eerily smart for a human."

"I'm a bit more intriguing… and intelligent than the average human," I commented, trying weakly to laugh.

"Then again, you're 'just human'," Fang continued with a snicker, ignoring my remark. His voice was sharp and the joy in his voice was forced. Something was bugging him.

"Hey!"

"Hush. Now close your eyes. We're going home."

It was quiet again.

"…I want to be kidnapped again," I suddenly said.

"Why?"

"So you could save this human and see for yourself that you can be a good Protector… No, not a _good _Protector, the best," I explained, trying to sound as light-hearted as possible.

"Sounds like a plan, Mrs. Damsel in Distress," he muttered, adjusting me so that he was holding me in a piggyback fashion. How do you shift someone who's on your shoulder into _piggyback?_

I sighed, leaning down to press my head to his neck. "I'm not married, Fang." Under my breath, I added, "Not _yet _at least." God. He smelled so… freaking… good…

"Yet?" he repeated, snickering. "I'd hate to be the man who marries you."

"Fang!" I scolded, hitting him on the head. "It's not like I'd want to marry you, either!"

"Who said I wanted to marry _you_?" Fang asked with a chuckle. "In whatever context have I ever said _that?_"

I hit him on the head again. "Shut up, Fang! Just shut up!"

He chuckled.

"Oh, umm…" I clenched his shoulders tightly, trying to think of a way to ask a topic-changing question without sounding awkward. "What did Lissa do to you anyway?"

"…Lissa? What do you mean?"

"While I was kidnapped –" I felt Fang stiffen, but I ignored it. "Lissa said she had 'taken care of you' really, really seductively. I was hoping she didn't rape you or something."

Fang let out a very loud and jolly un-Fang-like laugh. "Lissa? Rape _me_?" His laugh now echoed in my head, sounding more and more like an evil rapist getting ready for his next victim.

Oh God. Get that vision of a naked Fang out of my head!

…_Wait, WHAT? _Kill-Fang-Max shouted.

_Irrationality for the win!_ Irrational Max and Heart-Fang-Max exclaimed in joy. _I'm so glad that Physical Max wants Fang naked!_

"Did you… Y'know… Rape her?" I continued awkwardly, trying to eject the thoughts from my head.

"Rape _her?_" He started laughing again. "Deity no. She's a slut, that's all."

"…Oh."

Fang grew quiet as he trudged up the steps to our apartment. He opened the door quietly, stuck his head in and glanced around before entering. "What's on your mind, Max?" he asked, trying to quietly make his way to my room.

"…Nothing." In truth, there was a lot on my mind. I just didn't really know what I was supposed to start with.

He shrugged, making me bounce a little as he opened the door to my room. "Talk to me, little Wardling," he teased, setting me down gently onto my bed. "I won't bite." Fang strode across the room to close the door, but sat himself next to me afterwards. "Max, if you're still thinking about Lissa…" He chuckled, but it didn't meet his eyes. "I didn't do anything to her. Nor did she touch me."

"But…"

"I faked myself passing out. She pulled my pants down, but –"

"Okay, okay, stop!" I interrupted hastily.

Fang started laughing, and this time, the chuckles reached his beautiful obsidian eyes. "I bet you really _did _think she raped me, huh. Funny, 'cause when my boxers went down –"

"Fang!"

"- she noticed I wasn't aroused and left me there."

I glanced as inconspicuously as I could at his lower body. He was wearing pants. _Phew. _"Did, um, she touch you?" I asked worriedly, raising my head up slightly.

He smiled that crooked, mischievous Fang-smile. "No. Of course not. Are you jealous?" he asked with a snicker.

A furious blush passed over my face. "No! No way!" I tried to force myself to stop blushing… It didn't work, of course.

Fang's smile disappeared, his hand suddenly brushing over my face and hair. "Tell me, Max… Are you all right? Did they hurt you in any way?" Good subject changer.

I stretched my back as best I could, groaning as it cracked. Maybe I was more banged up than I thought. "Uh… Dylan… dropped me really roughly onto the ground. And I got hog-tied. _Hog-tied! _Can you believe it?"

His eyes narrowed furiously and I saw a spark of anger go off in his eyes. "What did Dylan do to you?" He leaned in closer, making me back away slightly. Obviously, being hog-tied was the least of our worries.

"No! He didn't…" At that moment, I realized that I had completely blacked out after he dropped me… so there was no way I could have been able to tell.

Was Fang trying to tell me that I could've been _raped? _

His cold fingers stroked my cheek. "I want you to check your whole body over. I'm not going to watch, but I have to stay near you. All the doors are locked and I'll have my back turned to you, but –"

"Can't Nudge just –"

"No. _Me. _Only me." His voice was scarily _possessive._

I started at him, making a puppy-dog face. "But… you're not a female," I muttered.

"Obviously," he agreed with an empty laugh. "I'm not going to look at you," he added in an assuring manner, his eyes gleaming with trust and honesty.

Was that what trust looked like?

"Fang?"

"Max…" His eyes closed but he was still stroking my cheek. "I just want to take care of you. I've never been able to save my Wards. _Never._"

I touched the hand on my face, taking it and stroking it softly. "You're trying so hard… Hey, I'm glad you're my Protector, Fang."

His eyes opened, the obsidian hue glowing with relief. "Max… That makes me happy." Fang pulled away, but paused, as if debating something in his mind.

I titled my head to the side in confusion, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He smiled and leaned down, his hand resting on top of my head, his thumb stroking the bangs away. With no warning whatsoever, he shifted down and pressed his lips to my forehead, resting there for a moment. "Max, promise me you'll be okay," he whispered, his lips still planted on my skin. "Promise me you won't get yourself caught in nasty situations."

"Y-yeah…" I was completely dazed and confused, my heart pounding in a pleasant surprise. Was this how Fang showed affection? Or was he trying to manipulate me into promising him something I normally wouldn't have agreed to? "I promise."

"Good." Fang pulled away and stared at me for a moment longer, but turned his back to me, his arms crossed. I stared at his beautiful black wings, still wondering what that mini kiss meant. "Now go look yourself over. Make sure you're okay."

"…Um… Yeah. Okay." I was still tingling with joy, my hands frozen in place.

"Max?" He glanced backwards carefully. "…Max, I want you to make sure that you haven't been…" Fang turned away again.

I shook my head and rubbed my arms up and down. "Right. Right." It wasn't cold, but it sure felt that way from the goosebumps on my skin. Thinking about it now, my body _did _feel like it was thrown around and bruised badly, but I was completely hoping that it was just because of the rough handling of this poor, fragile Maximum Ride.

"Fang?"

"Yes, Max."

"Why are you _my _Protector?" I randomly asked as I was pulling off my shirt.

"…M… Meh." He didn't answer with any coherent thought.

I glanced down at my body, wincing when I saw all the purple-ish bruises. "Well? Are you going to answer me or not?"

"Another time," he replied simply, sighing.

"…Fine." With a sigh of my own, I lifted my butt up to the best of my ability and started taking my pants off. Many grunts, grumbles and minutes later (poor Fang), I finally got my damn skinny jeans off. I threw the blankets off the bed and inspected the rest of my body carefully, not taking my undergarments off just yet. It was very creepy to be stripping down to my underwear with Fang _in the room _even if he weren't watching. I'm not going stark naked. God. What if he takes a quick glance?

"You all right?"

"Ugh. I can't… I'm not going to take my underwear off!"

"…M… Meh." He was probably having a nosebleed.

I sighed and mumbled about the stupidity of men under my breath. "I can't finish all of this. I don't wanna… Y'know…" I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. What was going on with me?

_Just take off your underwear and check yo'self before you wreck yo'self, Physical Max!_

I don't even want to _imagine _which Max_ that_ was.

"I understand. Just promise me you will when I get Nudge, okay?"

"Yeah." I hastily grabbed my clothes and slipped on my skinny jeans and black t-shirt, falling back onto the bed. "Can I sleep?" I stared up at the ceiling, sighing and wondering how badly my body was roughed up.

Fang bounced onto the bed, sitting next to my hips. "Yeah. Of course."

"Watch over me?"

"…Yeah." He grinned that special, only-Fang-can-pull-off-this-smile smile. "Of course." His onyx eyes gleamed with amusement and relief.

"'_Course_ you'll watch over me. I'm _just human _anyway," I remarked with a chuckle.

Fang's smile turned into a forced half-smile, the emotions in his eyes disappearing and leaving sadness. "…Yeah. You're just human," he repeated, his voice empty.

What was with that tone?

I decided to ignore it and go to sleep.

Hopefully this mess would be able to clear itself up in the next few days.

**(end of chapter ten)**

Sort of an anti-climactic chapter. *Shrugs* I thought the mini-Fax-kiss was nice.

What do you think?

**READ+REVIEW=UPDATE!**

Hope you enjoyed it. I'm pretty sure all of you have the idea of what happened to Fang in his past lives and why he's so hung up on "losing all of his past Wards". Of course, as we all know, Max is slow, so you fast and smart-butt readers understand what's going on before Max, right? _RIGHT?_

I love you all! *Blows kisses to all of you* (If any of you are guys… I'm going to laugh. Totally. Then again, blowing kisses to girls is kind of weird too… 'cause I'm female. OH WELL.)

_I LOVE YOU ALL. :D_

Just imagine that I'm Morrigan Aensland from the video game Darkstalkers and I look like an awesomely sexy seductive succubus. (Yes, you read that correctly. "Aensland." Go re-read chapter… three, I think.)

**Achtung, baby! **_(Attention, baby!) _– Courtesy of Klavier Gavin

**Fliegen auf. **_(Fly on.)_

-Sketch

**Disclaimer: **30 Seconds to Mars owns and performs the song, _The Kill_, not me!

**Thanks****: to Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute **for the beta!


	11. Fliegen auf

"_Fliegen auf" _is German for "Fly on."

**Fallen**

**Chapter Eleven: **_**Fliegen auf**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"I'm tired, Fang," I muttered with a sigh, mumbling incoherent words of thanks. He ran a hand through my hair and chuckled. "Why does everyone want me dead?" I randomly asked, half-asleep.

Fang was silent for a moment, his hand still massaging my scalp. "The only reason they want _you _dead is because they want _me _dead," he said quietly.

I stared at him in disbelief. "R… Really?" I murmured softly. "I don't want you to die, okay?" I smiled faintly up at him.

He shrugged. Did he _seriously _just shrug my worry for him off? "I'll do my best, little Wardling," he whispered softly, smiling.

I let out a breath of relief, grinning sheepishly up at him. "Good."

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

My heart always aches whenever I see the memory of my family at the park eight years ago.

But it also makes me angry. So _angry._

_"Ow!" I had just been shoved to the ground by my younger sister. "Maya! What was that for?"_

_ "You cheated _again!_" she shouted, a huge pout on her face. "You always cheat! _Always!_"_

_ "I do _not!" _I exclaimed back, hopping to my feet, wiping the blades of grass off my butt. "I never cheat! _Never!_" I mocked._

_ Maya stared at me as I stood up, her hazel eyes paralyzing me. "Max! Stop _lying!_" she screamed at the top of her lungs._

The dream shifted.

_Maya, now eighteen, pushed me against the wall, one hand choking me. Her other hand held up a knife, aimed straight for my heart. _

_ "Your death is long overdue."_

_ A smile was on her cold, heartless face, though it was horribly disfigured by the bruises and scars crisscrossing all over her skin._

_ It was disgusting to look at._

_ "Look at me, Max," she muttered, her muddy brown eyes boring into mine. Wait. Were her eyes _always _that muddy? "Look what you've done to _me._" Her voice cracked on her last word._

_ I couldn't think of anything to say. "I-I'm sorry!"_

_ "Sorry isn't good enough anymore."_

_ Maya gripped my throat harder, her other hand lifting the knife up higher._

_ "M-Maya - !" I moaned in pain._

_ "Good night, Max," she whispered before thrusting the knife into my chest._

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"WAAHHH!" I screamed out loud, my fists clamping onto the bed sheet tightly. I felt like if my muscles clenched anymore, my knuckles would bleed. "Maya, I –"

A blonde head popped into view and onto my lap. "Max-chan!" called that cute little voice. "You're awake!" Angel's big blue eyes poured into mine, her face forming into that of a cat's… or I possibly imagined it.

"Angel?" I whispered softly, raising an eyebrow as cat ears appeared on her head.

"Yup!" She gestured to her left, my right. "Gazzy's here too."

"Why…?" I glanced to the right.

Gazzy shrugged and stepped closer to us. His crossed arms covered in lots of black clothing and nonchalant shrug reminded me of Fang. Speaking of Fang, where was he? "Ig said you weren't feeling so hot so he told us to bring you some food," Gaz told me, grinning.

My stomach rumbled at the mention of food. "Where?" I asked almost ravenously. Gazzy chuckled and set a tray of food onto my lap. Without even caring to examine it, I picked up the fork and spoon (fortunately not a chopperstick or whatever those things were), and started to eat furiously. "Mm!" I groaned. "So _freaking _good!"

"Duh!" Angel teased, bouncing up and down in my lap. I looked her over again, watching as her blonde curls moved in time with her shoulders. Did Iggy _seriously _have a thing for the cute little Angel? Geez, that's such an evil thought. "Iggy's, like, the best cook in San Diego! Maybe even in California!"

Earlier, I could've convinced myself that that was a hyperbole, but with the quality of the food I was eating now, it _had _to be almost maybe true. "Where's Ig now?"

"He's getting groceries," Gazzy answered.

"Oh, okay."

Angel looked at me in interest. "Did you need to talk to him?"

I thought about Fang for a moment and wondered where he was hidden. "Yeah," I replied absently.

"Well if you're thinking of asking him out on a date, there's no way I'm letting you do that!" Angel exclaimed in a shrill voice as she grasped both of my shoulders with small, yet firm hands.

Whoa. _Possessive Angel? _Mindfuck…

"Iggy's mine!" she continued, shaking my shoulders roughly.

_WHOA. _Possessive Angel to _IGGY? COMPLETE SHITBRICK._

"Okay, so I _really, really _don't want to ask Iggy on a date," I assured her, stopping her from shaking my shoulders off. _I'd rather date Fang, _Heart-Fang Max, Irrational Max and Hippie-Max said at the same time. "But… Aren't you guys like, seven years apart?" I ignored my voices. There was no way in _hell _I'd _ever _want to date Fang. You'd have better chances trying to freeze hell than change _my _mind.

Angel starting bouncing up and down in my lap again. "No! _Noooo! _We're only six years apart! _SIX!" _

I blinked at her response and started giggling. "Angel, firstly, six years is still a _really _big age difference."

"Not to mention it wouldn't be a good idea to fall in love with your brother," Gaz added, rolling his eyes.

"Brother – right, right foster brother. _Wait, _that's still wrong!" I patted her head with a sigh and hugged her close. "If you guys seriously consider each other siblings… that's wrong. _So wrong. _All incest-y." I shuddered at the thought. "Ick."

Angel frowned at me and hit my shoulder softly. "But I _love _Iggy."

Gaz sighed. "Yeah, no _kidding, _sis."

"But does Ig love you back in that way too?" I asked her. "Or does he just love you like a younger sister?"

Angel pouted and wouldn't talk to us. Her cheeks puffed and she crossed her arms, turning away and trying to look stubborn. It didn't work. All she did was make herself look even cuter than before, which seemed impossible… but it apparently wasn't.

Gaz frowned and patted Angel's head, smiling. "Oh Ang! I know you love Ig, but _come on. _You should rethink this… um… Crush."

"Nuh-_uh!_ Iggy promised me he'd marry me when we got older!" Angel squealed, bouncing up and down again, making me nauseous.

My eyes nearly bulged out of my head and I almost threw up. _HOLY SHIT FUCKING CRAPGASM ON FIRE, ICE, WIND AND WATER. _"WHAT?" I ended up shouting instead. How could he have made such an _irresponsible _promise? "IGGY!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, momentarily forgetting his absence.

"Yup!" Angel continued innocently, not noticing my outburst. "Iggy pinky pwomised me and did a Scout's Honor," Angel explained, grinning cheekily.

"Oh Angel," I muttered under my breath with a loud sigh.

"Ang," Gaz started, "Iggy's very –"

"CAPTAIN IGGY IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!" I heard him shout at the top of his lungs, the door slamming open. "WHOOOOSH!" He sprinted into the room and stood for a few seconds by my bed. Iggy then grabbed then Angel by the hips and lifted her up with no warning whatsoever before he bolted out of the room just as quickly as he had come.

I stared in confusion while Gazzy started laughing, doubling over. "What just happened?" I asked.

"Maxie-poo, Angel isn't the only one who has a thing for their sibling," he explained, a smirk on his face.

"Incest?" I gasped in confusion. God, Iggy and Angel – the age difference was… sickening. Ick.

"…Yup." Gaz bowed. "Now excuse me_. I vill now go_ _devhour ze Snickuh bahs,_" he murmured in a… European accent. He disappeared after speaking that, slamming the door shut.

"_'Ze Snickuh bahs,' _eh?" I tried to mimic his amazing accent, but epically failed. "Hmm. I kinda want some now," I said out loud, licking my lips.

"I'll go buy you some if you'd like, Wardling," came a familiar whisper.

I tensed in surprise, but gradually relaxed as I realized that it was Fang that had said that. "Um… Yeah, that'd be nice."

"Actually, I can't. I'll tell James to buy some for you," he amended, chuckling as he appeared next to me, taking the tray from my lap and setting it down onto my computer table. I had nearly forgotten it was there. "Why don't you rest, Max?"

I looked down at myself, staring at my belly. "I'm getting fat." I glanced back up at him. "Would it be so hard to shove me off the bed and make me run a mile or something?"

Fang was tense, his obsidian eyes staring hard into mine.

"What's wrong?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Your stomach. Have you been getting any cravings? Did your period come? Did… you feel anything?" he suddenly questioned, his voice raising a few octaves.

Realization struck me like a bolt of lightning. "…N-No! I haven't!"

Fang's icy cold hand pressed hard to my stomach. "Are you _sure?_ We could go right now and check you for pregnancy –"

"Fang, I'm going to be okay."

"…No, we should make sure. Come on, we can –"

"Fang, I said I'm all right!" I shouted louder than intended.

He pulled away, his body tense in shock. "O-Oh. Right. Sorry. Excuse me." Fang tried to smile.

I grabbed his shoulder and forced him to hug me. "I'm sorry. I know you're worried." With a reluctant sigh, I pulled back, staring into his warm onyx eyes. "Okay. Let's go to the doctor's." I froze in surprise. "My motorcycle –"

"- Is totally fine. I have it covered. I did all the spending, picked it up from Mrs. Dubose or whatever that old hag is named and it's sitting in the parking garage," he explained quickly, ruffling my head. "Come on. Let's take the thing out for a spin." He took my hand and pulled me to my feet, supporting me with his arm. Fang pulled my arm over his shoulder and slumped forward to accommodate our difference in height.

"What about the kids?"

"James has that covered."

I recalled the memory. "Was it that Captain Iggy thing?" I asked, wincing when he grabbed my hip too hard.

"Sorry." He opened the door with his free hand. "But, uh, yeah, that whole Captain Iggy façade was just so he could get Angel and Gazzy out of the room so I could talk to you," he explained, pushing the door open even further.

I moaned softly, limping out the door. "W-Where are they now?" I asked, hoping to get my mind off of the pain.

"James said he'd bring them to the beach. I had a conversation with him while you resting," Fang clarified, smiling as we left our apartment.

"Err… Does Iggy really have feelings for Angel?" I randomly asked while still on the topic of Mr. Iggster.

Fang laughed quietly, the sweet sound filling up the silence. "Oh _Deity. _Angel and James are complicated to say the least. Though, I'd say yes, they've got a little thing going on here and there," he told me, rubbing my hip gently.

"But Angel's only _twelve!_"

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, she is. But the interesting thing about her is that… well in short, Angel's a very smart and wise person for her… years."

I shrugged as we stepped out onto the stairs to the ground floor, Fang still supporting me. "If someone saw us now, what would they see?" I wondered.

"They wouldn't see me, so they'd probably just see you limping," he answered with a shrug.

"Oh." I couldn't think of anything smarter to say.

We were quiet as we made our way to the ground floor, Miss Anne Walker waving at me as she talked to what looked like another client.

"Enjoying your apartment, Miss Ride?" she asked, smiling.

I nodded and limped along. "Thank you so much for selling me the room, Miss Anne! I seriously appreciate it," I told her honestly. "It's _amazing. _I love it."

She grinned and gestured me along. "I hope you feel better. That leg looks pretty ugly."

I nodded again and giggled under my breath, nudging Fang with my arm. "Move faster, Fang," I hissed, trying to avert my gaze from Anne. "My _ass _hurts!"

Fang reached down with his hand supporting my hip and nonchalantly squeezed my rather soft and sensitive buns. Yeah, I said it. _Buns. _"This help?" he asked softly.

I yelped in surprise but held it in. "Fang!" I scolded quietly as we exited the apartment.

He chuckled and went back to holding my hip. "Hand slipped," he murmured softly.

"Yeah _right_."

"Heh, believe what you will."

We walked in calm silence as Fang strode to the parking garage of the apartment which I hadn't actually seen before. He held me tightly, trying to support me to the best of his ability. Fang stepped into the garage and it looked like any other parking garage – nothing mysterious about it… I hope.

"Walk with me," he said softly, adjusting his grip on my aching body. Fang nonchalantly walked over to one of the white parking lines. I stared in shock and awe. A blue Kawasaki motorcycle with white stripes sat in between the lines, shiny and ready to ride. "It's yours," he said with a smile, handing me the keys.

I gripped them in shock, using both Fang and the motorcycle as support. I stared at it, running my hand over the shiny finished paint. "Wow," I gasped. "This is _awesome!_"

The keys were snatched from my grip.

"For now, I'm driving 'cause I don't really trust you'll be able to get us to the doctor's in _one _piece. Or alive. Not to mention you don't even know _where _it is," he said with a laugh.

"Can't we just, um… Fly?" I asked, nodding at his now visible wings. I wondered why they disappeared at times but it was probably just because Fang willed them away or something of the sort… I guess.

He shook his head roughly, a faint smirk on his face. "There's no way I'm going to fly you there. There's too many factors in what could happen when I have someone else as a passenger."

"Why?" _Wow, _Max, smart responses.

"Variables. The wind speed, your weight, my strength at the time, the weather… There's a lot left up to chance and I'd really have to think about it," he replied casually. "Not to mention you're utterly _terrified _of heights." I blushed and watched in silence he straddled the hog after making sure I was holding the motorcycle carefully. "Come on," he said, patting the seat behind him.

With an annoyed sigh, I pulled my leg carefully over the motorcycle, watching in amusement as he struggled to start it. "Wait, here, lemme show you," I told him, leaning over, not realizing how awkward it would be for the poor guy. I reached over him and took the keys, sticking it into the ignition and turning it hard. "See… Uh, you gotta be more _forceful._"

Fang chuckled and I felt his laugh vibrate against my chest. "Forceful, eh?" he repeated. "Shoving in a key –" He leaned forward, chuckling again. "And pushing hard?"

I hit him hard on the head. "Don't be such a pervert!" I shouted, smacking him with my fist again.

"Sorry," he muttered with a laugh. "Wrap your arms around my waist, okay? I don't want you to fall."

I felt myself blush and put my arms around his hips, resting my head against his back. "I'm good," I said softly, nuzzling my face against him.

"Okay… That's good," he muttered as the motorcycle roared to life.

With a sigh, I gently closed my eyes as he kicked off the floor. My arms tightened around him and his legs pressed against mine. The motorcycle growled again and soon we were off, zooming along the streets at what felt like a breakneck speed.

_"Hang on tight, Fr__ä__ulein!" _he shouted above the roar of the hog. _"Fliegen auf, my ride, fly on!" _More German? Come on.

I groaned into his back, squeezing him hard.

About seven things popped into my mind at that moment.

1) My old friends are _Fallen Ones?_

2) I was stabbed by my _sister?_

3) FANG_ IS SO HOT._

…Wait, scratch that.

3) Fang can speak German… and I understand it fluently.

4) I was kidnapped? _WTH._

5) I was saved by Fang while being kidnapped? _WTFIGOH. _("WTF is going on here?")

6) IGGY AND ANGEL ARE LOVERS? WTFIGOITPCWILIWTIH? ("WTF is going on in this pathetically crazy world I live in where there's incest happening?")

7) Fang looks ab-SO-lutely _hot _with long hair tied up in a samurai knot.

…Again, ignore that comment. (Damn you, Heart-Fang-Max and Irrational Max!)

7) What's with these random scenes popping into my mind?

Why the hell can't I stop thinking about Fang? And why does it seem like I know him?

Sorry, that was eight… er… Nine? Wait, I told you to forget that comment.

It's eight, just eight.

But anyway, Fang was right when he said that I've known him before.

I felt like I've known him all my life – and more.

Could that be a coincidence?

Was my mind closing off memories that I didn't want to remember?

Or, more importantly, were those memories ones I wasn't _supposed _to remember?

**(end of chapter eleven)**

**READ+REVIEW=UPDATE!**

Yup. You know what to do.

-Sketch

She's not as slow as some of you might think.

**Thanks to: **Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute for the beta.

**Not gonna have any Iggel references anymore 'cause I know how much Bunny-chan hates it. XD But yeah, no more Iggel.**

**Edit: **some fixes


	12. Mr Dante's Inferno

**Fallen**

**Chapter Twelve: **_**Mr. Dante's Inferno**_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I squeezed Fang's waist and unwrapped myself from him, leaning back with a groan. "Help me out?" I asked slowly as he got off of the motorcycle. Fang took my hand and supported me as I carefully stepped off it, stumbling into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, gently supporting me as he searched my eyes wondering if I was about to tell the truth.

"Mm-hm," I murmured breathily, pressing my head to his chest. I tried not to blush, but knowing me and my uncooperative self, it didn't really work. "My body hurts… so much though."

His hand stroked my neck and traveled down to my hip, resting lightly on the bruised skin. "It'll be okay," Fang said softly, helping me up the steps to the hospital.

He opened the door, and I made an, "Ick," sound. The lobby looked normal. The receptionist looked normal. Everything looked normal.

But it had that bloody smell of _doctors. _

Literally.

"You don't like hospitals?" Fang huffed, taking me to sit down in a chair. I nodded. "I see." He took a seat next to me, still holding my shaking hand, which I noticed in embarrassment.

"There's no need to hold my hand," I mumbled, staring down at the white concrete floor.

I felt a soft squeeze. "You're shaking, Max," he said quietly. "Calm down."

"Don't we have to check in?" I asked, trying to change the subject. I forced myself not to think about what _might _happen.

"I had James call in earlier," he explained, stroking my palm softly. "They already know."

As if on cue, a voice called out into the lobby. "Nicholas Dante? Maxine Ride? The doctor is here to see you," a female voice said.

"Damn it!" Fang hissed under his breath, though I heard it. He helped me up, my arm slung over his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" I wondered.

"…Damn him," he muttered, "Damn James…"

I dug my fingers into his shoulder. "_What's wrong?_" I repeated.

"He said my name."

"So?"

"So they'll be expecting a _Nicholas Dante._"

His name? "…So?"

"…I have to appear to humans."

"Oh."

"Yeah. _Oh._"

He helped me trudge along as I grabbed his shoulder. "So… How do you appear to a human… exactly?" I asked in a low voice.

"I… Err, I just do," he answered simply, turning his eyes away from mine. Obviously, there was more to it than he wanted to say. "It's a state of mind, I guess."

"Wow. Great answer, Fang," I ended up telling him, not wanting to push his buttons.

"Mmhm."

We were quiet for a moment as that same brown-haired nurse that had originally called for us walked in. (Good thing she wasn't a red-head… no offense.) She wore the usual white nurse scrubs and even a cute hat to top it off. She was actually a very pretty person.

"Miss Ride, Mr. Dante, would you like a wheelchair?" she asked kindly, her hazel eyes full of warmth as she looked at both Fang and me.

"No."

"Yes."

I glared at Fang just as he looked at me. "I don't need a wheelchair," I growled at him.

He bit his lip, but squeezed my shoulder hard. "Fine… Okay." Fang obviously doubted my answer. Thanks a lot, Mr. Protector.

The nurse tried not to giggle, but it was obvious she was having a hard time keeping it in. "Of course. Well… Ms. – ah, I mean, Dr. Martinez will be ready to see you in a few minutes, but I'll let you come in," she said with a smile.

"Mar… tinez?" I repeated quietly.

Fang cut me off. "No, it's not –"

"Ella Martinez," the nurse explained, her eyes showing confusion. "She's a very young and _very _capable doctor." She said that with much gratitude and praise. I guess that Dr. Martinez was sort of a hero in her eyes.

Although… I didn't understand why I had gotten so anxious. _My _"Dr. Martinez" was dead. "I see," I ended up saying. Oh Mr. Valentine. I'm becoming the emo gravedigger English teacher.

Fang squeezed my shoulder, but much more gently and reassuringly this time. "Come on. I want you to be okay," he muttered.

The nurse grinned and shuffled us into one of the empty examination. "Please sit down here, Ms. Ride," she said softly, pointing to an examination bed.

I sat down carefully, watching curiously, as goose bumps appeared on my skin.

She took a clipboard from the door and examined it. "Pregnancy test, yes?" the nurse asked, her lips forming a frown.

I nodded.

"Have you taken one of those small pregnancy test boxes?"

I shook my head.

She frowned again. "So you…" The nurse turned to Fang. "Are you Nicholas Dante?"

"Yes… But please, call me Nick," he said quietly with a nod.

She ignored his suggestion. "Mr. Dante, did you…" She paused, probably trying to find a good way to word her next few phrases. "Have… intercourse with this Ms. Ride?"

He shook his head roughly. "Deity, no!" he exclaimed. "I would never violate her in such a –" I leaned over and punched him in the shoulder. "…Uh. No. I didn't."

The nursed pursed her lips, not amused by his answer. "I see."

Fang tried to chuckle, but ended up half choking, half croaking. "Y-Yeah." He turned to me and held his hand out, one visible obsidian eye gleaming in worry… and care?

I took his hand in mine and brought him closer. "Thanks… Nick," I murmured.

"Yeah." He squeezed my hand in an assuring way.

The nurse tried to smile. "I'm glad that you haven't left her though, Mr. Dante," she said quietly.

"W-What?" Nick – I mean, Fang – sounded taken back.

"You're her boyfriend, no?" the nurse asked just as a black-haired woman in a lab coat appeared.

"Lo-o-overs?" the woman, who I assumed to be Dr. Martinez, questioned, smiling creepily. Oh Lord. I didn't like her much already. She looked to be slightly older than me, but much more… mature? Actually, no. The way her hands were clasped together excitedly, I'd go as far as saying she was one of those shipping-fan-girls.

"No way!" I shouted instantaneously.

"Yeah," Fang murmured.

WAIT WHAT?

My head swiftly turned to Fang, face blushing in confusion and embarrassment. "W-What?"

His face and eyes betrayed no emotion. "You don't think…?" Fang's voice trailed off, and he leaned closer. "Go along with it," he whispered. "It'll be easier to explain." Fang stared into my eyes and touched my cheek. "We're together… Right, _sweetie?_" His voice was calm and collected, but I could tell that he was reluctant to say that.

I heard feminine giggling in the background. "How cute," Dr. Martinez murmured.

"Y-Yeah," I muttered, blushing and averting my eyes away from his.

Fang did his weird sort-of smile. "Good. I'm happy you feel that way." He leaned a little closer and planted a kiss on my cheek.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to kiss him back or blush even more. I went with the second option.

_God._

I felt like I was about to faint. What the hell is wrong with that boy?

"W-Whoa! Loving _boyfriend!_" Dr. Martinez exclaimed, her hands still clutched together.

I looked down at my lap as Fang pulled away chuckling. "Yeah, yeah," I grumbled. "He most _definitely _loves me." He sat down next to me, lacing our hands together.

"So…" Dr. Martinez quietly began. "What are our own Romeo and Juliet doing around here?"

"Pregnancy test," the nurse answered before either Fang or me could intervene.

Dr. Martinez pursed her lips. "Have you two ever had…?"

"No." Fang's voice was completely firm. "I… No. I just want to know whether or not she's been…" He frowned. "Raped."

The doctor nodded. "I see. I'll need you –" She pointed at me. "–To go ahead and undress. And _you _–" She turned to Fang. "– need to skedaddle."

Fang shot up from the bed, our hands separating. "No. _No. _I am not leaving. Just. No."

Fang.

Possessiveness.

…Fang + possessiveness = …

End of the world?

Dr. Martinez stared in curiosity. "Most men prefer not to watch this process…" Her suspicious eyes bore into Fang's, showing her obvious distrust.

Fang's eyes grew wide. "Whoa! No, it's nothing like that!" he quickly cut in. "It's just… I… I don't know."

She glanced at me and then at the nurse. "Are you two okay with this?" The nurse nodded. Dr. Martinez stared at me, her face solemn. "It's up to you, young lady."

I shrugged. "Sure. Why not? What's the worst that could happen?"

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I groaned in surprise and fell onto my bed, tired as heck. "Didn't think it'd be like that," I mumbled, rolling into the covers and pulling them over myself.

"At least you're not pregnant," Fang muttered, sitting next to me and stroking my hair. "I'm glad you're not."

"…Yeah. That's a good thing."

He patted my head silently.

I looked up at him, watching his eyes drift into the distance. "Fang?" I called out, taking his free hand and squeezing it.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you that? Back at the hospital…"

"The whole… 'We're together' thing?" he murmured, his voice a million years away. Or three-hundred. (Get it? 'Cause he's four-hundred years old, and he probably wants to be protecting someone other than me – okay, never mind.)

I tensed slightly, wincing at the random thoughts. "Yeah."

Fang said something under his breath, but I couldn't pick up what he said.

My eyes stared up to meet his onyx ones, feeling completely confused. "What was that?"

"It's just… It's… I just didn't want to worry Ella," he replied quietly, turning his head away from me.

I raised an eyebrow, knowing for sure that he was lying. "Is _that _Ella Martinez…"

Fang took my hand and patted it. "Valencia's…" He nodded, looking down at me. "Yes. Valencia's adopted daughter," he whispered in agreement.

"And… Um, you're close to her?"

_Jealous, Physical Max?_ I-Love-Fang Max teased.

And I thought I had gotten rid of those voices.

_No, she's not! _Kill-Fang Max shouted.

Irrational Max laughed. _Heh. You have _no idea _what jealous means._

He was quiet for a moment, as if listening to my voices. "She's special," he replied, sighing.

"Special?" I repeated, the voices fading ino the distance. "As in… She's a…" I wanted to say _Protector. _

"All-seeing human. Yes."

"W-What?" That was completely surprising. And confusing. And unexpected. But mainly confusing. "What the _hell _is that supposed to mean?" I ended up grumbling.

"Ella has a special type of sight," Fang explained. "I don't understand why, but yes, she does."

I raised an eyebrow. "Was or is she what you are?" I muttered.

"An angel? No, not that I know of," Fang replied, rubbing my shoulder. I don't understand what's up with him and touching random parts of my body. It's… really weird. But somehow comforting. But still extremely weird in general.

I shook my head roughly. "…Hang on, I'm utterly confused. What do you mean by all-seeing human?"

He shifted uncomfortably on my bed, snatching his hand away from me. "She can see hidden angels… on her own. But she has no idea what we are."

"R-Really? Wait, isn't she _our _age?" I paused, repeating the words in my head. "Uh, um, I mean, _my _age."

Fang chuckled, but the sound wasn't as pretty as it normally was. "My _physical _age, your mental _and _physical age. Anyway, no. She's older. By three years," he answered shrugging.

"So… she's… 21?" I counted off my fingers. "Wait, how is she a doctor already?"'

Fang shrugged. "She most likely studied abroad when she was younger. That's my guess, of course."

"She's still really, really young though," I commented, shrugging.

"I'm still really, really old though," Fang grumbled, a half-smile on his face.

"Ooh, someone likes the young doctor," I teased, prodding him in the stomach.

"Nah. I've had about four-hundred years of doctors wondering why I have wings," he replied. "I'd rather not."

I stared up at him. "W-What? I thought you said you couldn't appear to humans!" I exclaimed, sitting up.

Fang hit me on the head softly and shoved me back down onto the bed. "I haven't always been an Angel of Divine Intervention."

"A what of a what?" I sat up again and glared at him for pushing me down.

He rolled his eyes. "An. Angel. Of. Divine. Intervention."

"Oh…" I looked up at him and shrugged. "Again I say, a what of a what?" I poked him in the back, beginning to touch his feathers. Finally, I was able to feel the velvety, almost unnatural softness of his black feathers. Staring at the feathers in between my fingers, I leaned closer and stared at it, wondering how they had become so black.

He tensed briefly, but sighed, almost as if reveling in the touch. "There are three main groups of angels: Divine Intervention, Humanoids and Guardians," he said quietly, shrugging.

"Could you explain further?" I asked, trying not to sound like an idiot as I played with his feathers. He smelled amazing, his feathers were soft and his presence was calming. What else could I ask for from this guy?

Great kissing?

I started giggling, feeling the persona of Love-Fang-Max try to take over.

With a sigh, Fang made me lay back down on the bed, rolling his eyes in what looked like amusement. "An Angel of Divine Intervention, such as myself, is invisible to humans, in a sense," he murmured, lifting his feet onto my bed. I could feel his legs touch mine, though the covers were blocking any skin contact.

"Then why can I see you?" I asked.

"Because I am your Protector, silly one," he replied quickly – a little too quickly. The wording he used and the tone of voice he had gave me the impression that the sentence he just spoke was a well-practiced one.

I raised an eyebrow, but chose not to question it for his sake. "Okay, so you're a Divine Intervention angel or whatever," I recapped. "Now why, exactly, are you invisible?"

He shook his head, putting his arms behind his head. "Can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Wrong timing."

"But…"

"I'll tell you about all of the other angels, okay, Max?" he said softly, looking up at the starry ceiling.

"…Yeah. Okay. Fine." I crossed my arms and pouted, but let the fluffiness of the pillow relax me.

"Okay… Let's see…" He touched the bottom of his lip, probably pondering something that had nothing to do with our current conversation. "Humanoids. Like James. Humanoids are the angels that can shift their form into anything they need to. They can hide their wings and maintain a fully human form."

I glanced behind him and poked his wings again. "Can't you hide _your_ wings?

"Not for long periods of time, no," he replied. "The longest I've ever gone without my wings was only about four hours. It was very painful and very excruciating though. I would never want to go through that experience ever again."

"O-Oh."

He coughed and turned his head to the right, staring at the door. "…I… I'll continue. Now… Guardians. They're the strongest angels in all of Starlight," he said, his voice filled with pride. "The Chief, Mia Skye, is one of these angels. They have the most power, speed, agility, and they're a force to be reckoned with. There's only… one problem."

I looked up at him, but he was still looking to the right, his eyes a million years away. "And that problem is…?" I prompted curiously after a minute.

He spasmed in surprise and nearly fell off the bed. "Guardians… They aren't invisible and they can't change their forms. They can't hide their wings… In short, they're the most vulnerable of all angels."

"I see… That makes sense though. With great power comes great responsibility," I quoted, grinning up at him.

"You aren't Spider-man, Max," he told me, rolling his eyes.

"I'm Spider-_woman,_" I countered, sticking my tongue out.

He tried to smile, but it failed horridly. I wonder what he was thinking about. It must've been important.

"I still don't understand anything," I muttered with a sigh. "Can't you tell me more? I mean, I'm pretty sure I should know _more._"

"You can't be so selfish, Max," he whispered, rubbing a tender spot on my shoulder again. Geez, what's with all the touch-Max's-shoulder thing today?"If you knew more, James, Monique and myself would be endangered even further."

"How the hell does _that _work?"

He pulled his hand away from me hastily.

"Knowledge isn't always power."

I growled.

"Right now, I'm pretty damn sure it is."

The atmosphere around us was getting tense.

Both of us were at our limits. And both of us _knew _we were.

"You don't know anything."

"I didn't _say _I knew anything."

"You implied it… and it's the wrong timing for all of this information to come out. Now then… Shifting topics…" He turned his head to his hands, which were resting in his lap.

Oh _no._ He was _not _going to run from this conversation.

I shoved him off my bed, annoyed with his mysteriousness. If he was going to be all bipolar on me, then I wasn't going to be all buddy-buddy with him. Better to shove your closest Protector who guards you from everything off your bed than to fall off a cliff to your death by your greatest enemy.

And if that didn't make sense, then what _does _in the world?

I shook my head. "Hell with that. I deserve to know. I mean, c'mon buddy. I'm in sort of a life or death situation right now," I argued, feeling my fists curl up into balls.

"You wouldn't know a life or death situation if it came up and slit your throat, Maximum," he growled, standing up and placing his hand over my neck. His onyx eyes looked like slits and they bore right into mine, peering right into my soul. "And until you do, you never, _ever _tell me what to do."

I grabbed his wrist and glared right back at him, feeling like the most courageous person in the world – and probably the stupidest at the same time. "And you, sir, would never understand what it's like to live with a dad who doesn't realize his family's presence and the heartbreak when you lose your closest family members in a car accident."

"A car accident?" he repeated, chuckling emptily, his angry onyx glowing. "_A car accident?_ You're trying to rebut against me, a four-hundred year-old man, with the woes of a _car accident?_ You're killing me, Maximum, simply _killing _me." He pressed two of his free fingers against my forehead and snarled again. "Do you know how my _lover _died in front of my eyes in every time I have been reborn? Do you understand what it's like to lose the person most precious to you every _fucking _time you're granting a new life?" The hand on my head shifted downward to my neck, and both hands tightly closed around my neck.

I clenched his wrists tightly and began choking on my breaths. "F-Fang!" I moaned. "Stop… it…"

"Max… Do you understand what it's like to be helpless and alone in a world where you can't ever let go of the mistakes you've made and start over?" he whispered, pressing his forehead to my shoulder and releasing his hands from my neck. "I don't think you do."

"Uh? Fang?"

Utter confusion overcame the anger. Wasn't he trying to strangle me a few seconds ago?

"I hate this job… I hate protecting you…" he murmured, his hair brushing against my cheek and ear. "I hate it… so much…"

I tried to push him off of me. This wasn't the Fang I met when Ari was attacking me. This wasn't the emotionless, powerful Fang that would do anything to make sure Fallen Ones weren't around.

This was a different side of him.

_A nostalgic side._

His muffled voice brought me back to reality.

"I hate you, Max."

Those four words made me freeze. "W-What? Why? Why do you hate me?" I repeated, completely perplexed. I never knew him until a few days ago. What _was _he to me? What did he want with me? Why did he protect me?

More importantly…

"What did I _ever _do to you?"

Instantly, I knew I had said the wrong words.

He lifted his head slowly, his eyes empty and emotionless.

But in a different way.

He was lonely.

And it showed in his onyx eyes, an inferno building upon the blank space, fiery emotions creating a spiral of anger, heartbreak, fear and loneliness. Those eyes, so familiar, as familiar to me as the back of my hand, stared into mine again, penetrating my soul and reaching deep into my heart.

The anger was apparent in the way his lips made a straight line, the edges of his mouth quivering. Heartbreak was a little more hidden, but it showed with how he winced, as if remembering something truly painful. The fear was kept deep within him, but I knew that look in his eyes – that scared, helpless feeling that a person gets when only they've been pushed back against a wall and stabbed.

Lastly, the loneliness.

I never would have guessed that someone as coldhearted and emotionless as Fang the Rock would ever have to experience something like that. But of course, looks are always deceiving. It should have clicked by now: he told me all about how his wife died right in front of his eyes. He told me how he regretted not being able to save her.

I was confused.

I _am _confused.

"You left me alone."

I stared at him.

And I'm even more confused than ever before.

Then he closed his eyes for a split second.

Once they opened, his right hand reached over and touched my neck.

"Max…"

Two of his fingers pressed into a tender pressure point on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

The pressure of his fingers dug deep into the pressure point, touching painful nerve endings and muscles that I never knew existed.

Then I passed out.

**(end of chapter twelve)**

CLIFFHANGER! :DDDDDD

_You know the drill:_

**READ+REVIEW=UPDATES!**

Sorry for the late update. I hope this makes up for the late-ness! I wasn't going to add in the part about the groups of angels before, but I thought, "Well, since I made them wait, might as well squish the next chapter into this one too." And a lot of cute Faxness happened here! I think.

But anyway, the next chapter is going to be so much more interesting now that I've got a few things set up. (:

Obviously, a lot of you already know what's going on with Fang's background and why he's so angst-y and hung up on being a Protector. But we're going to go deeper into that piece of the story… in the next chapter!

Oh yeah! The return of the absolutely awesome Angel Harmonia in the next chapter too!

See you later!

_Fliegen auf_, my avian children!

-Sketch the Heartbreak Girl

**PS. **The whole pregnancy thing was a complete red herring by the way…

Or was it?

**SPECIAL: **The ultimate "thank you" goes to **Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute**, my awesome beta and a good friend! Thanks for waiting for me to finish this chapter, buddy-bunny!

Also, thank you _readers _for reading this chapter and being patient enough to wait for it! Please review!


	13. The Sky World, Part 1

Chapter title comes from the song, **Memories** by Panic! At the Disco.

**Fallen**

**Chapter Thirteen: **_**The Sky World, Part One**__(Memories, Where'd You Go?)_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I stared into the pitch black darkness, only one thing crossing my mind.

Where _was _I?

"You're in your dreams," a familiar voice whispered from behind me.

I swiftly turned around, facing Angel, who was floating above me. "A-Angel!" I exclaimed. She was wearing a blue and white checkered dress with a matching headband wrapped around her curly blonde hair. "Angel… why are you in _my _dream?"

She shrugged and floated right into my arms. I gave her a big hug and kissed her cheek. "'Cause you wanted me in your dream," she answered, giggling. "I can be whoever or whatever you want, Maxie."

"Can you be…Iggy?" I asked, saying the name that was at the top of my head.

No, actually, that was a lie.

Fang was at the top of my head.

Angel smiled and pulled away from me, but she soon became blurry. I turned my eyes away, the sight too painful to look at.

"Cap'n Iggy's here!" the voice exclaimed, the sound a perfect mimic of his voice. Wincing at the volume, I looked back at him, staring at his weirdly slicked back strawberry blonde hair. He had on a black tuxedo with a matching black tie, eerily looking like someone out of a James Bond movie. "What's up!"

"W-Whoa. Looking… different, Iggy," I remarked, trying not to laugh.

"Yup. This is how I looked when I was living as an actor in the 60s!" he exclaimed happily, grinning cheekily.

"You were _an actor _in your past life?" I shouted in surprise.

"Yup. Sean Connery. Cool, right?" He sounded completely nonchalant, a huge smile on his face.

I stared at him. "You look _nothing _like Sean Connery, dude!" I exclaimed in shock. "Wait, wait. You're _totally _pulling my leg, liar."

He shook his head. "No, no. I was a James Bond actor in my past life. We Starlight Angels can take any form or shape when we are reborn and depending on what type of angel we become," he explained.

"Aren't you a figment of my imagination though, since you're in my dream?" I wondered in a suspicious tone.

Iggy grinned. "Nah, this is the _real _Iggy. Angel wasn't real 'cause she's not… well, an angel. But I'm another one of _your _Protectors and you called me in here, so… here I am," he said, shrugging.

"I… see?" The memory of what Fang had said days ago (or was it weeks? Or more?) flashed through my mind, as if an exclamation mark appeared over my head like a cartoon character.

_"You called for me."_

_ "What do you mean, I called for you?"_

_ "_You called for me._"_

_ He snarled._

_ "You shouted my name. You wanted to see me. It doesn't get any simpler than that."_

I shook my head fiercely. "Am I able to call Fang here?"

Iggy nodded hesitantly. "That's not a great idea though. For some reason, Fang's… been in a bad mood recently," he muttered, sighing.

_Bad mood recently…_

Those last three words echoed in my mind and I thought,

_The reason… is me._

"Oh. I think I'd still like to try though," I told him, closing my eyes. "Fang?" Maybe if I concentrated really hard, Fang would appear by my side. "Fang, I… I'd like to see you."

I forced my eyes open to the darkness, but only Iggy illuminated in the shadows. "Guess that didn't work."

Iggy smiled and gestured behind him, moving from his place in the darkness. "Oh, right, of course not," he muttered, pressing his palm to his face as if in realization. "You can't call him because he doesn't exist."

"Wh… _What!_"

I stumbled forward and slammed into a hard solid object, which was the thing Iggy was standing in front of. Touching it gently, I felt a door knob type handle and turned it, a door opening. I peered inside, seeing nothing, and only hearing voices.

Familiar voices.

"Iggy?" I turned around. "Where's… Fang?"

"Max, I lied. You aren't in a dream. You're in the safe haven of the Starlight Angels – the Sky World. These are memories of each and every angel ever made, whether or not they're still alive as angels, humans or simply are gone. Memories that we can all access," he quietly said, resting on what seemed to be a block of solid darkness, if that made any sense at all.

That didn't answer my original question.

"_Where's Fang?_"

"He doesn't exist right now," he replied mysteriously, flashing a smile that didn't look like Iggy's. It wasn't his normal care-free grin, but much more sinister.

"What in the _hell_ do you mean by that?" I growled.

Iggy chuckled. He was getting on my nerves. "He's not an angel right now."

"W-What?" I gasped.

"He can't come to your right now. While us Angels are asleep in this haven, we cannot come to the aid of our Wards… but we rest. And become stronger. And stronger… to protect you and make sure that everything is alright."

"Why couldn't you explain that earlier?" I shouted, annoyed.

"I like riddles," he replied, laughing, the sound very un-Iggy-like.

I stared at him, squinting. "Are you _really _Iggy?"

"At this point in time, I am _James Sparda… _I am my _real self_ here." He pointed at the door. "Best be going, young one. You'll lose him." Iggy turned away and began to walk away.

I glanced back to the darkness of the door and then to Iggy.

"Ig!" He stopped. "What is this?"

"Memories. Those are memories." He began walking again, nonchalantly shrugging.

"But whose? _Whose!"_ I heard myself beginning to get flustered.

Iggy laughed that more familiar laugh. "Nick's," he answered.

"N-Nick?" I repeated in confusion.

The gears in my head began turning.

"Fang's."

I nodded in realization and swiftly turned my attention back to the dark door. The voices inside were getting clearer now.

I stepped into the room.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

_When I could see, the first thing I noticed was the large window from across the room. It was a wide one, almost going from wall to wall. There was nothing but darkness outside, not even a glimmer of light illuminating at all._

_ Everything in the room was classy and old school, with nothing electronic around. The only lights were the candles lit on various desks and tables in the room, and not even that was helpful in this darkness._

_The room itself was rather large, and a king bed in the middle of it all pointed this place to be one for two people – and it was obvious because that was exactly how many people were in the room, excluding me._

_ On the black sheeted bed sat Fang with his usual short black hair falling over one eye. He was suited in a black tuxedo, looking as if he had just come from some sort of a business meeting… But on the other side of the bed, a woman in a white strapless dress sat with her back turned to me._

_ "Sweetie," Fang whispered in what sounded like some sort of a European accent. _

_ "Nicholas…"_

_ "I… I won't let them inflict pain on you." Fang looked down at his hands and squeezed them tightly. He stood up and sat next to the woman, staring at the sunset out the window. His arm wrapped around the girl's waist, and he squeezed her hip gently. "They won't touch you, my love. I promise." _

_ The woman nodded, her pretty blonde hair bobbing up and down. Interesting how she wasn't a red-head. With a sigh, she replied, "I know you will."_

_ "I love you," Fang whispered, kissing her cheek gently._

_ "I know." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I know you do…"_

_ The dream shifted._

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

_"General." _

_ I opened my eyes slowly and saw a man in an American Union uniform sitting on a horse. The man wore a brown hat fitted with stars, black hair falling over his onyx eyes. The horse was a black steed with a beautiful white mane. _

_ Next to him was another man fitted in the same outfit, save for the hat. A huge grin was apparent on his face. "General. General Valentine," he called out to his commanding officer in the darkness of night. "The Confederates still have her, sir." _

_ "I know."_

_ "She's… been destroyed. Psychologically."_

_ "I see." The General's voice was completely blank and emotionless, his face leaving no trace of feelings whatsoever. "Sergeant Chaos…" he said softly, shaking his head disapprovingly. "They've turned her against me, Sebastian. My wife, I mean."_

_ Sebastian Chaos, whose voice I recognized from before, nodded. His black hair was cropped closed to his skull and the look in his blood red eyes pierced into Valentine's – Valentine. The Union general from an earlier memory! "I understand your logic, General, but…" His voice trailed off, as he began watching Valentine intently._

_ Valentine dismounted and sat on the log adjacent to Sebastian. "Sergeant… Why should I live anymore? If she's going to be how she was when we saw her…" He shivered, as if recalling a distant memory. "I don't think I should live at all." He hung his head, the shadows falling over his face. _

_ Sebastian shook his head. "As your guardian, I can't allow you to die."_

_ "Sebastian," Valentine murmured. "When I am reborn… I refuse to be seen as your superior ever again. It will cause an uproar of memories." _

_ Sebastian groaned. "You can't say that, Nicky. You _are _my superior. You've taught me everything I know ever since Batchelder… did what he did to me."_

_ Valentine ignored him. "I know the perfect name for you when you return, Galian –"_

_ "It's _Sebastian_ in this life, Nick," he interrupted._

_ "– You should be Vincent Valentine next time," the General finished._

_ The sergeant raised an eyebrow. "I see. I'll take that name, just for you, sir… But I have only one request for you," he continued, rolling his eyes._

_ "Go on," Valentine murmured, shrugging. _

_Sebastian smiled. "Promise me you'll live… Your wife wants you to _live. _She forced me to make sure that you would, buddy," he reminded, shaking his head._

_ "Does she really want you to live?" _

_ Valentine tensed._

_ Sebastian swiftly turned around to face a tall figure hidden in the darkness. The voice was obviously feminine, tinted with an American accent._

_ It was a new voice._

_But also very familiar._

For some reason, I knew exactly what was going to happen in this particular "memory".

The girl in the shadows was going to go up to Sebastian, stab him in the shoulder and throw him aside like a sack of potatoes. Then, she'd walk up to Valentine, hug him tightly, whisper, "I love you," and end his life with a stab to the heart.

General Nick Valentine is Nicholas Dante, my Protector under the nickname of Fang.

The figure in the shadows is his wife, who I assume is the Madeline dear to his heart.

And Sergeant Sebastian Chaos is my English teacher, Vincent Valentine, apparently _Fang's_ Protector.

I turned away and closed my eyes, hoping I never had to recall Fang's death in the American Civil War ever again.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"_It's a specialized bullet, Bas," Fang said softly in an old American accent, though it was not as formal as the one from the American Civil War._

_I opened my eyes and saw Fang cupping a bullet in his palms, his figure slumped over as he sat down on the simplified bed in the apartment he seemed to be living in. His hair was shorter than it usually was, his bangs only falling over his forehead. He wore a black and red striped polo over a white t-shirt, but he looked ragged… and in pain._

"_Do you see the name engraved on it?" Fang asked his companion, who I distinguished as an older version of Sebastian._

_Sebastian nodded, his face tanned and obviously hardened by war. His hair was still the close crop to his skull, but not necessarily making him appear bald. "Yeah. This is definitely the work of Fallen Ones," he muttered._

_Fang frowned. "That's not possible… We destroyed the last two in our area!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. _

Fallen Ones.

There's that phrase again.

Was Fang an _angel _at this time?

Where were his wings?

"_I haven't always been an Angel of Divine Intervention."_

Or maybe he was just a different type of Angel…

"_Ari and Lissa aren't the only Fallen Ones around here, y'know," Sebastian replied, sighing. "We've still got Jones on the loose… and that Avery boy." He threw his hands up and walked around the small apartment, staring out the window. "The Great Depression is getting to you, isn't it?"_

America. Late 1920s to the early 1940s.

_Fang growled. "They won't kill me again!" he shouted, ignoring his comment about the Great Depression._

_Sebastian chuckled, trying to make light of the matter. "Well, back in the Civil War, it was your wife who killed you, eh, General Valentine?"_

_ "Shut up." His voice was terrifying and angry, pure hatred radiating from his skin. "I don't ever want to ever hear you mention that again."_

_ "Sorry, buddy. I was just trying to lighten the mood," Sebastian said with a sigh, stepping closer to him and sitting in a chair near Fang's bed. "But this bullet…" He took it from Fang's hand and examined it closely. "Not a good thing. Sam's getting ready to… you know."_

_ Fang glanced at Sebastian, his eyebrows furrowing together. "There's no way I'm going to let that happen. If taking a bullet to my heart saves my love then so be it," he snarled. "A bullet for my _valentine, _so to speak." _

I guess I now know where _that _band name came from.

_ "I'm sorry," Sebastian suddenly whispered. "I know how you feel. My love – she died years ago. And she refused to be reborn."_

_ "Yeah. I know. Yuffs was a great girl," Fang commented, shaking his head in annoyance, obviously cooling down. "But… I don't know what to do anymore."_

_ Sebastian laid his hand on Fang's shoulder comfortingly. "You'll get through this. I know you will. She's working hard to stay alive. The whole Civil War thing hit her hard too, you know," he said quietly. _

_ "I won't ever let them hurt us again."_

_ "Good boy." Sebastian stood up and rolled his neck. "Well, I gotta go check up on the two kids," he murmured, yawning. He began to leave the room, but Fang called out his name._

_ "Sebastian."_

_ "Yeah?"_

_ Fang looked down at his hands. "Should I try? Should I keep trying?"_

_ Sebastian began to shake his head, but stopped himself hastily. "If you truly believe that you love her and if you really think that it can work… Keep on trying. Yuffie gave up on me. But that doesn't mean _she_ will," he said in a quiet voice._

_ In response, Fang sighed. "Okay. Tell Angel to make sure she doesn't get caught in this mess of ours," he murmured. "I feel a war brewing…"_

_ Sebastian turned around and scratched his head, confused. "What?"_

_ "Angel is a Jew, no?" Fang mused softly, still staring at his calloused hands. "I'm scared for her and her brother. You know… all of those things that Hitler man is talking about."_

War brewing? Jew? Hitler?

Holocaust? World War II?

…Angel?

_ "You're crazy, Ni – Fang – Talor," Sebastian remarked with an empty chuckle. "There's no way he's actually going to do that –"_

_ "You say that a lot, but there are many cases that you've been wrong whenever you say that," Fang replied, body shaking. "Nothing will ever be alright. I'm going to die."_

_ "You aren't going to die. No one is. No one is going to die before I do." His voice was annoyed and firm._

_ Fang's head snapped up to stare into Sebastian's. "Stop it. You don't understand what it's like to lose the girl you love repeatedly in front of your eyes and to be _stabbed _and_ killed_ by her!"_

_ Sebastian nodded. "I've never been killed by my love, but they killed mine too, you know," he replied in a calm manner. "I'm still here for you, buddy. And so is Angel. And Edward."_

_ "Those two kids can't help me, Bas," Fang replied, his voice cold and lonely._

_ "They're smarter than you think." Sebastian smiled evilly but shook his head and turned to the door. "I'll see you during dinner."_

_ "Yeah. Whatever." Fang fell back onto his bed and closed his eyes. Before I was swept away from the memory, I thought I heard him say two softly spoken words:_

_ "Oh Maxine…"_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"What in the hell!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, opening my eyes to see nothing but the familiar darkness of the Sky World. "Sky World" was a complete misnomer. I had expected it to be all pretty lights and huge white pillars and that stuff!

"Something wrong, Max?" a loud voice said from behind me. I swiftly turned around to face Nudge, another one of my Protectors. "You look… startled. Kind of like that time when Fang dropped you from the sky and I had to catch you and then you started flailing around and stuff and then we had to calm you down somehow. Actually, that was only, like, yesterday! Or something. That's funny because a lot of these things happen really slowly, you know?"

I stared at her and felt myself get ready to pass out. "Nudge, please, Nudge! Stop… stop… Stop talking," I moaned, shaking my head.

"Sorry!" Nudge apologized hastily, bowing her head. "I'm sorry, Max! I got carried away there." She floated next to me and patted me on the shoulder. "Well, anyway… How were those memories? Were they confusing? Interesting? Awesome? So Fangarific?"

With an annoyed look, I told her, "Shush. I'm too tired to be dealing with you right now..." I sighed.

"That's not exactly a nice thing to say you know," she muttered, shaking her head. "Well, you know what? I'm not going to give you any information about what you sincerely want to know!"

"Eh?"

"Like those memories," she continued. "I'm not going to explain to you what Fang's memories were about! 'Cause I know, of course! 'Cause I'm _awesome._"

"_Eh?_" I repeated.

Nudge giggled and flew in a circular pattern around me. "Fang hasn't always been so emotionless, you know," she said, grinning.

"…Um, yeah, I could kind of tell," I told her, shivering in remembrance. "What with his wife and such…"

She smiled down at me. "What are you confused about, Max?" she asked quietly, sitting on a block of darkness as Iggy had earlier. Her eyes shifted around, as if she was afraid of something – or very observant.

"Confused about?" I repeated in surprise. I stared at her, wondering what had gotten her to quiet down and show this side of her. Maybe this was the same thing that happened to Iggy earlier – in the Sky World, were all Starlight Angels reverted back to their "real" selves? "I… I don't know where to start," I continued, trying to collect my thoughts together.

Nudge started laughing, but calmer and quieter. "Well, there's a lot of things I can tell you about. Sebastian, for example. Fang's deaths. His lives. How we met Fang. His other memories…" She paused for a moment. "…His wife."

I rubbed my eyes and sighed, staring down at the black floor. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be intruding into Fang's life like this. It doesn't feel right," I whispered.

"Pfft, you've always been intruding into Fang's life, Max!" Nudge exclaimed. "I mean, come on. He's your Protector. He's _always _going to be intruded by you."

"…Okay, um… Yeah, I kind of understand that logic," I told her, slightly confused.

Nudge nodded fiercely. "I'm glad you see it that way!" she said with a big grin. "So! Anyway, is there anything specific you wanted me to explain?"

I sat down cautiously, checking if I was able to sit down on a random area. Interestingly, it was very possible. "Well, there is _one _thing, mainly," I murmured, staring down at the dark floor. "Why is the Sky World… black?"

"B-Black?" Nudge began laughing hysterically, her usual self returning. "The Sky World isn't black, silly! It's so…" She hovered around, smiling cheekily. "It's so heavenly!"

I stared at her. "Are you _crazy, _woman? There's nothing here! It's all darkness… and stuff," I muttered, waving my hands around like a lunatic.

"Pfft, the Sky World isn't black, silly!" she exclaimed again. "You have to open your mind to the possibilities! Don't be afraid to dream a little bigger! Be a creative little cat!"

I admit, I wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box when it came to the creativity department, but I tried my best. Closing my eyes, I pictured the Sky World exactly how I did earlier – white walls, huge pillars, angelic music, beautiful flowing fountains…

Then my eyes opened.

And my imagination came to life.

Rows of flowers and trees filled up a garden-like area, barricaded by fences, though the place looked like it would go on forever. In the middle of the garden, a fountain sat, the water crystal-clear and almost heavenly. Along the way, on what looked like a white-stoned path, stood towering pillars with statues of angel-like figures.

I glanced up at Nudge.

She herself looked like her normal, bubbly, Nudge-y self.

I looked past her and stared into the bright blue sky, untouched by any trace of clouds.

It was probably the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

After what felt like a lifetime of all this gawking, I turned my attention back to Nudge. "It's like my own personal Eden," I whispered in joy.

Nudge started laughing. "That's such a good way to describe it!" She landed in front of me and grinned. "Come on! Follow me and I'll show you the rest of Fang's memories!" She held her hand out, but I just raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"He has _more _memories?" I said in surprise.

Nudge began laughing hysterically again, as if that was the funniest thing she had ever heard. "_Duh!_ Fang's had the most lives a Protector has ever had! Why else do you think he has like a bazillion memories?

"What?" That was new.

"Mmhm!" She gestured for me to take her hand again. "Come _on!_ I gotta show you all these things before I hand you over to Fangy and the Chief!"

Fangy?

_The Chief?_

I wanted to ask more questions, but something told me all my questions would be answered within the next few… Well, I don't know. Soon, hopefully.

With a reluctant sigh, I grabbed Nudge's hand.

Seconds later, we began accelerating at the speed of light.

**(end of chapter thirteen)**

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See you next chapter!

-Sketch, the heartbreak girl


	14. The Sky World, Part 2

Chapter title (and basis for certain parts) comes from the song, **You're the Inspiration** by Chicago.

One of the flashbacks is inspired by the song, **I'd Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song is About **by Mayday Parade. _("…And I'm sorry this wasn't easy, when I asked you 'Believe me', you never let go… But I let go.")_

The anime **Hell Girl/Jigoku Shoujo **is heavily referenced in the same flashback as the one mentioned above.  
><em>I do not own <em>**Hell Girl/Jigoku Shoujo **_or any of its characters. (Mentioned: Ai Enma, Ren Ichimoku, Hone Onna, Wanyuudo)_

**Fallen**

**Chapter Fourteen: **_**The Sky World, Part Two **__(No One Needs You More than I Need You)_

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

I closed my eyes and clenched Nudge's hand as hard as I could, trying not to scream. In the distance, Nudge's laugh rang in my ears, the sound light years away.

Then we came to a dead stop.

I looked around.

It was the same Sky World – all the same beauty and purity … but for some reason, the atmosphere felt much more solemn and sad.

"Where are we?" I groaned, panting and sitting on a nearby slab of white stone. I put my face in my palms, breathing heavily.

Nudge wasn't even slightly winded. "Fang's piece of the world," she replied with a small laugh. She stepped into a nearby corridor and gestured me along. I reluctantly followed, still out of breath.

"Here," she called out, opening an ebony wood door. I peered inside, but there was nothing but darkness. "These are more of Fang's memories, you know." Her eyes drifted from the door to a watch on her wrist. We were obviously on a time constraint.

I shook my head hastily and pulled away from the door before any of the voices became understandable. "I don't want to intrude anymore –"

"I told ya, Max," Nudge interrupted. "You're Fang's precious little Ward! You're _always _going to be intruding on the poor guy." She smirked and laughed heartily.

"But why _me_?" I whispered, not even trying to calm myself down. I wanted answers. As I continued seeing all of the reoccurring events in Fang's past, I just got more confused. The truth became more muddled with each and every passing second I was in the Sky World. _"Why?"_

Nudge wrapped her arms around me in a caring hug and patted my head. "If you go and see the rest of Fang's memories, it'll be all clear to you," she said quietly.

I squeezed her gently and smiled, pulling away from her grasp. "Thank you, Nudge."

She grinned cheekily. "Fang does crazy stupid things for crazy stupid love!" she said, practically floating on her own personal cloud nine. I could tell that Nudge was into the whole romance deal.

"I wonder why," I pondered out loud, pouting.

Yeah… Why exactly did Fang go through all these things for…"crazy stupid love"?

Nudge shrugged in response, though it was a rhetorical question... even though I didn't voice the actual question. "Sometimes love needs to last more than a lifetime," she muttered quietly, chuckling to herself.

Yep. She was most definitely one of those romance story readers.

"Fang told me that, once," she continued, hopping into the air and floating by slowly moving her wings back and forth.

I raised an eyebrow and watched her gently cruise around. "Oh? What did Mr. Emotionless Rock tell you?" I asked sarcastically.

Nudge grinned. "Well, in one of the memories, he'll tell you - I mean, you'll hear him say it," she hastily corrected. "He told me… Fang said that he loved his wife so much that even though he knew they were eventually going to die, he wanted and needed her for more than the lifespan of the average human." Her voice picked up speed, the sound growing louder and louder with each sentence. "But anyway, Fang was so in love with her that he didn't want to _ever_ let go. That's what gave the Chief more initiative to make him an angel when they were killed – because he was so passionate and crazy about this girl, he knew she'd agree to be an angel too, since she loved him just as much."

I watched her in amusement. Though what she was telling me was very heartfelt, it was funny to see her try to form a complete thought. "I… see."

"That's not all!" she exclaimed, landing graciously on her feet. "They're still very much in love, you see. It's just… complicated."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Do explain."

Nudge hung her head with a long sigh. "That's the problem. Fang forbade me to explain anything to you. He said he wanted you to find out for yourself," she mumbled, slouching forward.

"Well, if Fang never finds out, it's not a problem, right?" I offered.

"No way! I'd feel _soooooo _guilty if I ever did that!" she shouted. "Not even if you gave me a bazillion lollipops would I ever do something as mean as that to Fang!"

I sighed. "Can you at least tell me what he said?" I prompted. "Do you remember his exact wording?"

Nudge suddenly flashed a huge smile. "Of course." She closed her eyes and whispered softly in a low voice, "_'I need more than a lifetime to be in love with you. If we have to become these damned angels just to spend forever together, then so be it. I don't care if we keep running, and I honestly don't give a fuck if those Dark Angels come after us. What matters is you and me.' _Aaaaand that's Fang's exact wording to his wifey," she concluded with a laugh.

"You… remembered his exact wording." It wasn't a question. It was a statement of disbelief.

"Duh. It's one of my favorite quotes!" Nudge said, her eyes turning glassy. "Fang's such a poet! I can't believe Madeline was the author and _not _Fang!"

I stared at her curiously. "Madeline was an author?" I repeated. I remember asking Fang if _his _Madeline was the Madeline _I _was thinking of, but he had shrugged and said no.

Nudge nodded. "Have you ever read that old 1950s book, _Dreaming of You_?" she asked, her head tilting to the side.

"Yes! Of course!" I exclaimed excitedly. "That's one of my favorite books of all time!"

_Dreaming of You._

It was a book written in the 1950s about a male teen of nineteen who had mysteriously died with no trace of a cause of death… except for a poem found on his body. This particular boy was able to intrude into a local girl's dreams and give her excerpts from his own memory of his death. In the end, the girl was able to find out his killer and let him rest in peace.

It was an amazingly written book…

By Madeline Brewer.

"Well, that's Fang's wifey for you," she remarked with a smile.

"Huh…" I shook my head. "I could've sworn Fang said his wife _wasn't _Madeline Brewer…"

Nudge kept up the smile, but I knew something was going on behind her happy façade.

"…You can't tell me more, can you?" I muttered, sighing.

She nodded, the smile glued to her face. "Why don't you just see the next memory for yourself, huh, Max?"

I sighed and nodded. "Alright. Thanks for everything though, Nudge," I told her gratefully, smiling. "By the way, who were _you _in a past life?"

"Me?" She giggled and gave me another hug. "Oh, no one important… Just Whitney Houston."

"…What?"

Sean Connery, and now _Whitney Houston? _No one _important?_

I wouldn't be surprised if Fang ended up being the reincarnation of Criss Angel or something.

Nudge grinned again and shoved me into the dark room.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

It was too dark to see.

"_Fräulein, I cannot allow you access to the Master's bedroom…_"

No.

Sebastian?

It can't be…

"_But he is my fiancé! I must be allowed to!_"

The same voice from the American Civil War…

The same memory from when I was knocked out…

"_Sebastian. Let her._"

Fang's familiar husky voice.

"_But Herr Talor…_"

German.

They were all speaking _German._

"_Did you not hear my orders, saukerl?" Fang growled, his voice trembling. "Sebastian, I thank you for your thoughtfulness, but I would dearly enjoy a few words with my fiancée."_

"_Herr Talor…" Sebastian's voice trailed off, Fang's name punctuated with a reluctant sigh. "Yes sir. Of course. Excuse me for my intrusion, Fräulein, Kapitän."_

The scene shifted… and when my eyes opened, I saw Fang.

_He had short, ear-length hair, but the same exact onyx eyes I had come to know like the back of my hand. There were scars crisscrossed on his cheek and one ran down to his neck and further down. He wore a black collared shirt and white slacks, but didn't seem to notice anything in the room other than… the girl._

"_Nicholas…" The girl, a blonde woman slightly shorter than Fang, sat on the bed, her back facing me. She looked like she was trembling and her voice quivered in fright. Even though I couldn't see her face, I made the assumption that she was crying._

"_Yes, liebling?" Fang's voice was hard and emotionless, creases of anger appearing on his forehead. He was standing by the door, leaning back and crossing his arms. _

"_Why… Now? Before our marriage…" She was so quiet, as if one wrong move would crack and destroy her fragile mirror._

"_I promise you, meine liebe, we will wed before I go…" His voice softened and the anger on his face turned into worry. "I must stop the one helping Hitler. The… Gefallen Engel…" Fang's voice trailed off, and he sighed, shaking his head. "I will return… I promise to you, with meine Gott as my witness," he continued in a whisper._

"_In this life? Or do you mean…"_

"_Who knows? I may return to you as a battered warrior or as a reborn angel from the sky." He sighed quietly, and shook his head, striding to the bed and sitting next to her. "But either way it turns out, I will be back, meine liebe, no matter what." He gently took her hand and squeezed it._

"_Promise me," she whispered in a delicate voice. _

"_I promise. My love is only for you," he replied, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "My heart is unconditionally and irreversibly tied to yours, Fräulein."_

Now _that _sounds familiar, doesn't it?

"…_You didn't have to tell me," she murmured, leaning her head against his shoulder. "You could have left me alone, Geliebte."_

"_I could not leave you without telling, liebling. You needed to know."_

_The blonde girl shook her head and grabbed his shoulders, pressing her face into his neck. "N-Nicholas!" she exclaimed, most likely at her breaking point._

"_M-Madeline?" he exclaimed in shock. "What's wrong?"_

_She lifted her head, and I saw her face clearly for the first time. Madeline had long and beautiful blonde hair and bright hazel eyes, glowing with love, longing and sadness. Her face was sorrowful and delicate, seeming as if she could break at any moment. But it wasn't her beauty or extreme emotions that made it all click._

_It was how_ familiar_ she looked._

"_I… I can't… do this anymore," she murmured, pressing her face into his neck again. "I don't… I don't want to be chased around like this!"_

"_Madeline…" Fang let out a soft whimper before continuing. "I… We promised… We promised _that day _that we would become angels and love each other forever. Skye acknowledges that. She knows that we deserve this… Do you really want to let go?"_

"_I never said I wanted to let go!" she exclaimed, squeezing his shoulders hard. "I never said that, Nicholas, I never did!" Her voice raised an octave._

_Fang held her gently, cradling her in his arms. "Then what do you want me to do about our situation?" he said softly, rocking her back and forth on his lap._

"_I… I want you to make it… make it all go away… just for one night," she murmured in his ear, running her hands through his hair. "Just… one night."_

_ Fang chuckled huskily in her ear. "Oh? What exactly do you want me to do?"_

_ "…I… I…"_

_ "Tell me. I won't embarrass you."_

_ "…Make… Make love to me… Until I can't think anymore."_

At that sentence, I turned away as fast as I could and grabbed at the door handle. Of course, my hand did nothing but phase through the door. I pulled back with a silent shriek.

Was I really going to have to stay through _this _part of the memory?

_"Until you can't think anymore?" Fang repeated. "I like that idea."_

_ "Y-Yes… Please…"_

I closed my eyes and knelt into a fetal position, trying to ignore what was beginning in the scene behind me. _Please don't be a screamer, please don't be a screamer, oh Deity Madeline, I hope to God you're not a screamer…_

_ "I love you, Nicholas." It was more of a moan than anything else._

_ "I love you… more… Madeline." A very, very, very, very seductive and husky growl… from Fang._

Under other circumstances, I would have found that sexy and hot.

And tempting.

But since these _aren't _normal circumstances, and I'm _not _turned on by Fang's growls….

Get. Me. Out. Of. Here.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

_Thank you, Deity, _I thought as I flew through darkness. Eventually, I landed on my feet gracefully and looked around. I was standing in a very Japanese-like room. A wooden sliding door was slightly open on one wall and one of those Japanese tables in the middle of the room. There were pillows around the table and two figures knelt on some of them.

_"Ren-kun," the girl said softly to the boy opposite her. It was Madeline, but much younger than the last memory, though it seemed to be a few years ahead. "Ren", which was really just Fang, was also much younger, and probably the same physical age as he is now. _

_ Fang shook his head and sighed, leaning his elbow on the table with his chin in his palm. "No… I'm Fang. I'm Fang to you," he replied quietly, staring at Madeline with sorrowful eyes._

_ "I know… I just…" She glanced behind her back and leaned over to take his hands in hers. "I'm scared, Fang."_

_ "I know. I know you are." Fang shook his head around, which made me notice that his hair was pulled up in a samurai ponytail and not his usual emo-look. "I'm scared too, you know."_

_ "You can't be…" Madeline sighed and looked down at her hands. "You're the Hell Girl's assistant. You can't be scared."_

_ Fang began laughing hysterically. "You actually believe all of that stuff?" he teased. "Ai Enma's just a neighborhood girl that I sit every once in a while for Wanyuudo. Hone Onna most definitely does _not _turn into a skeleton… Just a scary motherly figure. And there's no hell involved and most definitely no nightmares or killings." His voice was calm and reassuring._

_ Madeline sighed. "What a relief."_

_ "Calm down, sweetie," he said softly. I then realized that they were speaking in Japanese, apparently another language I could understand. He had said "sweetie" in English, which I almost picked out as being a foreign word. _

_ "Ren…"_

_ "Fang. I'm Fang. Call me Fang."_

_ She rolled her eyes and took his hands in hers. "Ren Ichimoku," she whispered softly, "Will you always protect me?"_

_ "Fang. I'm Fang. Call me Fang," he repeated sarcastically._

_ "Ren."_

_ "Fang."_

_ Madeline let out a sigh of annoyance. "Fang."_

_ He smiled and squeezed her hands tightly. "Yes. I will protect you. Forever, until I draw my last breath…"_

_ "Good… Because I…"_

_ Fang raised an eyebrow in confusion. _

_ "I'm going to America," she confessed, looking down at the table._

_ "…What?" he exclaimed in shock. "Why would you – the Fallen Ones – they're – why would you _do_ that?" He was completely taken back, and he almost looked angry as he pulled his hands away._

_ "I don't want to run away anymore."_

_ "We aren't running, Madeline. We are strategically hiding."_

_ "It's the same thing, numbskull!"_

_ "Madeline… I just…" Fang shook his head, still baffled. "I want to know why you're doing this. I want to help."_

_ She stared at him with angry, yet saddened eyes and slowly leaned forward. She continued in a cross, yet passionate, but also fearful voice that raised an octave. "How… How can you help me, Fang, when you can barely help yourself?" she murmured softly, gently cradling his chin in her hands._

_ Fang pulled away from her, who in turn stared down at her hands._

Déjà vu.

Complete… and utter… déjà vu…

Why was Fang intentionally doing all these things to himself?

Why did he tell me those exact words while he was scolding me at school?

_Why?_

_"Madeline…"_

_ She looked up._

_ "Do you remember what I asked you on our first day before becoming angels?"_

"'_I need more than a lifetime to be in love with you' –"_

"_The other thing…"_

_ "You asked me to believe you and never let go."_

_ "Please… Don't let go."_

_ "I promised you I wouldn't."_

_ "Don't let go, Madeline. Don't. I swear to Deity, if you do, I'm going… I'll die and never come back. I won't see you ever again if you let go of it all."_

_ "I promised you then, and I'm going to hold you to my promise, Fang. I love you too much to ever let that happen."_

_ "Madeline…"_

_ She smiled up at him. "I'm going to ditch the name _'Madeline' _in my next life or something, Fang. I just don't like it."_

_ "You got too famous with 'Dreaming of You'," he replied. He looked like he was on the verge of crying. If Madeline hadn't changed the subject, he probably would have broken down in tears by now._

_ "I need a new name, you know?"_

_ Fang sighed. "Not this again."_

_ "I was thinking… How about Maximum Ride?" she offered._

...No comment.

_Fang raised an eyebrow. "That's a sexual innuendo just waiting to happen."_

_ "Yeah, that's what I was thinking." She leaned over the table even further and planted a soft kiss on Fang's lips. "Like… Maybe… I'm the maximum ride of your life! And my name was Maxine, right? So it all works out! I'm your Max Ride and you're my… Um…"_

_ "Nicholas. I'm still your Nicholas."_

_ She rolled her eyes. "Nicholas, huh? You're such a boring guy." Her voice was much clearer and cheerful, like a great weight was lifted from her chest. She was sounding so much more familiar now, so normal… so... like me._

_ "I still love you."_

_ "I didn't say you didn't love me. I'm just saying… if you're going to be reborn again after all this Japan stuff, then why not change your name? You've been Nicholas for the past… what? Three-hundred years?"_

_ He sighed. "My name is Ren in this life. Back during the Great Depression, my name was legally 'Fang'," he corrected, trying to smile._

_ Madeline grinned. "I love you, Fang."_

_ "I love you too… my Maximum," he whispered softly, his onyx eyes being the last thing I saw._

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

_ 'You know our love was meant to be  
>the kind of love that lasts forever.<br>And I want you here with me  
>from tonight until the end of time.'<em>

I opened my eyes slowly to the sound of _You're the Inspiration _by Chicago, a classic song from the 90s.

_ A soft laugh rang through the air. "There you are Fa – Nick. Fnick. Yeah. That sounds right," a gleeful female voice teased. "Nicky Dante."_

Madeline.

Or Maximum Ride.

…Me?

_ "Madeline… You are still Madeline, yes?" Fang slowly got to his feet, his face slightly distraught, yet still joyous. "Realize that I haven't changed my name yet –"_

_ Madeline grinned and hugged him tightly, kissing him on the cheek. "Come on. Let's dance, emo-boy," she whispered softly, pulling her arms around his neck._

_ "Sounds like a great idea, my love," Fang murmured, forgetting about his current rant. He began twirling her around slowly, a half-smile lighting up his face. They were dancing around in a dark bar enveloped in shadows, yet the whole place seemed lively and happy. Both wore casual clothing and the music, of course, made it obvious that this was long after World War II. _

_ 'You're the meaning in my life –  
>You're the inspiration.<br>You bring feelings in my life –  
>You're the inspiration.<br>I wanna have you near me;  
>I wanna have you hear me saying…'<em>

_ "No one needs you more than I need you," Madeline sang quietly in his ear, sighing contently. _

_ "That's very true," Fang chuckled. _

_ "Shut up! It's the lyrics to the song!" she rebutted, burying her face in his neck._

_ "It's true though, sweetie," he muttered, rubbing her back gently. "You're the only I need. And I'm the only one you need."_

_ Madeline kept quiet for a moment, looking slightly shaken up. _

_ 'And I know, yes I know it's plain to see  
>We're so in love when we're together…'<em>

_ Fang touched her cheek. "Something wrong, sweetie?" he muttered._

_ "…Yes… I… I talked to Mia last night…"_

_ He stepped back and stared right into her hazel eyes. "…About what?" he asked feverishly, ignoring the song to the best of his ability. His eyebrows were angrily scrunched up. That was not a good sign._

_ '…From tonight until the end of time…'_

_ "I'm going to become a Lost Angel."_

_ "No." His voice was quick and firm. "No."_

_ "I will… I've already made the arrangements with Mia."_

_ Fang stared down at her with disbelief in his eyes. "No. You can't. You promised."_

_ She looked down at her feet. "I've… made a lot of promises I haven't kept, Fang."_

_ "Madeline…" he whispered quietly, touching her cheek. "I… You told me… You'd never let go… When I asked you to believe me and never let go…"_

_ With a reluctant sigh, she shook her head sadly. "I'm so… I'm so sorry," she whispered. I saw that look in her eyes. She was ready to give into Fang's request and start crying in his arms._

_ But she didn't._

_ She stayed true to her feelings and told him, "No. I'm not going to go back on what I've told Mia. This is for the better, Fang. The Fallen Ones won't come after us anymore and you won't be in danger."_

_ Fang closed his eyes. "No. No. This isn't how it's supposed to be. Your memories… All of _our _memories. You're going to forget _our_ memories! The ones we made _together!_ The ones we promised never to forget…" His lower lip trembled, and he was now the one on the verge of crying._

_ "Fang… I… I don't want to be hurt anymore… I don't want all this pain and longing for someone who isn't going to come back one day…" Madeline murmured. "I don't think the Deity can keep reviving you forever…"_

_ "I don't care what it takes! I'll come back as many times as you need me to. I'll destroy every last one of those Fallen Ones…" He held her arms as gently as he could while still being commanding. "I'll do anything for you to stay with me."_

_ "But I _will _stay with you. I'll become a Lost Angel, but you'll still be here. You'll be my Protector. And I'll be your Ward," she explained in a soft voice. "We'll still be together… but…"_

_ "You won't remember a damn thing," he finished for her, his mouth set in a hard line._

_ 'When you love somebody…  
>(Always on my mind…)<br>When you love somebody…  
>('Till the end of time…)<br>No one needs you more than I…'_

_ Silence followed, but the song continued, not noticing the irony it emitted as the lyrics poured from the speakers._

_ "Fang…"_

_ "Don't talk to me," Fang said, voice hard as stone. He turned away and stepped to the exit of the bar. "I'm going to the Sky World. I don't care what you do anymore, Madeline."_

_ Madeline sprinted toward him, but he was already out the door. "Fang!" She ran out as fast as she could. I followed her slowly, scared of what I would see when I left the bar._

_ No one was out in the parking lot except for Madeline, illuminated under a street light. "Fang?" she called out, looking up to the sky. "Fang! Come on… Fang… I… I just wanted… what was best for both of us..."_

_ She fell to her knees and closed her eyes._

_ I closed my eyes too and tried to picture what Fang was thinking as I stood outside the bar._

_ When my eyes opened, I was staring down at the parking lot concrete, feeling tears pour down my cheeks. I sat up slowly and began looking around, unsure of what I was supposed to see. "Fang?" I whispered, feeling my body shake and tremble with sadness and anger. _

Where was Fang?

…Where the heck was Madeline?

Then it hit me.

Completely.

I wasn't sure of it before, but now it all clicked.

I was in my rightful body in this flashback. I was _supposed_ to be kneeling here, crying my heart out for a man who wasn't going to come back until I lost my memories and moved to San Diego. I was _supposed _to be angry, lonely, sad, annoyed, lost and confused while waiting for the divine intervention that wasn't going to save me.

I was _supposed_ to be Madeline Brewer at this moment, seeing from her eyes and feeling her emotions and realizing how painful this weight on my chest was.

I was _supposed _to see all of Fang's memories and intrude on his life because I was a piece of his life. I was a very fragile and very important piece of his life.

I was his wife, killed by a gunshot to the heart.

I was his wife that killed him and committed suicide days after.

I was his lover he died for by taking a bullet to the heart.

I was his fiancée who died during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

I was a fan girl who wished I could let go.

I was his lover who _did _let go.

I was Madeline Brewer.

But now I'm just Maxine Batchelder.

And I have no idea in _hell _what just happened.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"…Max?"

I opened my eyes to a bright white light. "Am… Am I in heaven?" I moaned softly, trying to blink out the white spots in my eyes.

A quiet, feminine chuckle filled my ears. "You're just like forty years ago, Max. I missed you," she whispered, waving her hand over my eyes. "I missed you so much."

I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes gently, yawning as I cracked almost every bone in my body. "Where…" With a gasp, I stared at the girl of about twenty-five sitting on the edge of the bed I had been sleeping on. "…You're…"

She had long brown hair falling to the middle of her back and glowing blue eyes, full of prowess, power and courage. Her white wings were curled up against her back, though they were twitching, as if aching for a fight. A long red ascot/scarf hung around her neck, and she had on a black coat and a matching black skirt, which complimented her light skin nicely.

"Hi Max!" she greeted excitedly, smiling. Her voice was high pitched and eager, but it rang many, many bells in my mind.

"M-Mia…" I whispered.

It was the first name that came to mind.

"Max! You remembered!" Mia smiled that pearly white toothed smile I seemed to faintly recall.

"…For once."

I turned to the sarcastic voice… a black haired man standing by the door with his arms crossed. His hair fell over one eye, but his one visible eye was black. Completely black. But it was that same obsidian hue I had seen in every memory and it was a color I knew like the back of my hand. The emotions I knew were hidden inside his eyes made it all the more enjoyable to utter his one-syllable name.

"Fang."

He chuckled huskily in response.

**(end of chapter fourteen)**

The truth… has been revealed!

If you kind of sort of maybe understand the story a little better, you should review!

**READ+REVIEW=UPDATES!**

The more you read, the more you should review. The more you review, the more I update!

I hope you guys liked it. Now a lot of answers have been revealed, a lot of questions will come up because I'm an evil person.

I really, really hope that the memories weren't too confusing. I know that they were, but you guys kept up, right? The _real _confusing thing, I thought, was the part where Max becomes… well, Max/Madeline in the last flashback.

In the Japan memory, imagine Fang looking like Yu Kanda from D. Gray-man with the voice actor of Ren Ichimoku from Jigoku Shoujo. :D

If you guys like this story enough, I'm planning to write a companion of the same story, but form Fang's POV. Tell me what you think of the idea! If you guys think it would be a cool idea, just drop a review saying you'd like to see that and I'll start writing it after _this _story is done. (It will probably be called something like **Forever**.)

By the way, the book _**Dreaming of You**_isn't a real book (yet). So don't go Google-ing it. It's a story that I've been working on for a while. If you use this idea, I'm going to sue you! (Not really. But plagiarism sucks. So don't do it!)

Hope you liked it!

-Sketch the first Avenging Olympian from Call of Duty: Final Modern Halo Gears of Fantasy VII.

Special thanks to **Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute **for the beta!


	15. A Perfect Sunset

Mini reference to **Sexy and I Know It **by LMFAO in the beginning. (It's a cool song, but I don't like repetitive songs like that. I don't really like songs on the radio anymore.)

Listen to the songs **W.A.M.S. **by Fall Out Boy. It's an awesome song.  
>The lyrics "My head's in heaven, my soles are in hell; let's meet in the purgatory of my hips and get well" somehow reminds me of the last chapter… The part where "Nicholas" and "Madeline" are in Germany… You know, the "Make love to me until I can't think anymore" part? :P<p>

Well, here's Fallen chapter 15.

**Fallen**

**Chapter Fifteen: _A Perfect Sunset_**

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Are you feeling better, Max?" Mia asked quietly, putting her arm around my shoulders.

I let out a sigh of exasperation as we walked down the hallway, every door and column looking exactly the same as the last.

"I'm guessing that's a no," Mia muttered, her voice sounded deflated.

"Ugh… Mia, I'm just completely confused," I admitted, staring at my feet as I dragged them forward. "Why is Fang still my Protector? It's obvious I was being an annoyingly selfish bitch…"

She giggled in my ear and squeezed my shoulder in comfort. "He still loves you, Max. He always loved you," she said, her voice soft and compassionate.

"He doesn't seem to show it."

"But I'm sexy and I know it."

I glanced up and saw Fang leaning against a nearby column. He was staring up at the sky almost longingly, his lips a hard line on his face. His bangs fell over one eye and the visible one seemed to glow with worry, yet still amused. He wore one of his trademark muscle tees that showed off his, well, muscles and tight black skinny jeans (emphasis on the _tight_), as well as a pair of black and brown shitkickers.

Sexy indeed.

Then he slowly turned his head to me.

"Hi, Max," Fang greeted, a faint smile on his face. "Feeling… better?" He held out one hand to me as I slowly walked toward him.

I took his hand and squeezed it gently, running my fingers over his protruding veins. "Confused. Completely confused," I murmured, shaking my head.

"I asked if you felt _better,_" Fang retorted sarcastically. "Not how you _feel_." I glanced back at Mia and rolled my eyes.

In response, Mia smiled at us mischievously and patted my shoulder, which made me feel self-conscious of holding Fang's hand for some reason. "I'll let you two catch up," she said, giggling. She walked off and I almost had the urge to call her back.

I kind of didn't want to be alone with Fang… and I let go of his cold hand.

"Max?" he asked quietly, worry laced in his voice. I saw him staring down at me through my peripheral vision.

"Yeah, Fang?" I glanced up at him curiously, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. "What's up?"

He gestured me along, and I began walking with him, staring at my feet. "What did you think?" he asked softly, lacing our hands together again. I tried to ignore the feelings bubbling up in my chest.

"About what?" I replied, knowing exactly what he wanted to talk about.

He tugged his hand away. Do you want to hold my hand or not?

_You two are too bipolar, _Irrational Max grumbled.

Dammit. They're back.

_You say that like it's a bad thing, _Rational Max retorted.

_Yeah, what's wrong with you Physical Max? _Irrational Max continued. _Is Fang on your mind? 'Cause whenever you hate us it's normally because we're destroying your alone time with Fang –_

_WHAT WAS THAT, IRRATIONAL MAX? _Love-Fang Max cut in. _DON'T YOU DARE INTRUDE ON THEIR ALONE TIME!_

I rubbed my eyes and let out a long sigh, trying to remember what Fang was talking about.

Oh yeah. He wanted to talk about his memories… No thanks.

"Max…" he murmured disapprovingly, sighing. He knew that I knew that he knew that I knew what he asked about. That was a lot of knew's.

"Yes, Fang?" I said, trying to keep my voice calm and even.

"My memories. What did you think –"

I touched his shoulder to stop him. Fang turned his head and looked down at me hopefully, stopping our little walk through the garden.

"No one needs you more than I need you," I whispered, staring into his amazing onyx eyes.

A smile graced his soft-looking lips. "I missed you, Max," he said in a quiet, fragile, un-Fang-like voice. "All these years, I've yearned to reveal myself to you and force you to take me back. I missed you so _fucking _much."

I turned my head away, blushing from the heat radiating from his intense eyes. "Why are you going through all this pain for me?" I asked hesitantly, playing with a flower growing in one of the planter boxes. I bent down and stared at the flower, identifying it as an iris, a beautiful bluish purple one.

I heard a rustling behind me and soon felt Fang's heat next to me. "Is that really a question you want me to answer?" I glanced at him and stared into his onyx eyes, wanting to lose myself in them.

With a soft smile appearing on my face, I touched his cheek and nodded slowly. "Yes, Fang… Of course I want to know," I told him honestly, leaning in closer.

He flashed his usual half-smile and pressed his lips slowly to my cheek. He ran his lips up my chin and put them against my ear. "I told you before already, Max," he whispered softly, latching his mouth around my earlobe. "I want to spend forever with you."

"That's all I needed to hear," I murmured back, falling into his strong, caring arms.

His arms wrapped around me tightly and protectively, and we sat there for a long while in the silence, not noticing anything but each other's presence. "We still have many problems," he said, letting out a sad sigh.

I pulled away from him slowly and stared into his eyes. "What do you mean?" I tugged on his shoulders gently.

"I can't…" He touched my cheek again, as if reveling in the feel of my skin. "I can't… _love _you the way I had been for the past four hundred years."

"Wh… What?" With what felt like a confused look on my face, I stared at him worriedly. "Is it something I did? Did I do something wrong?"

Fang tried to smile, but it was obvious that something was completely wrong here. "You… became a Lost Angel," he muttered quietly. "That's what made everything… complicated."

I raised an eyebrow. "…Explain. Firstly, what's… a Lost Angel, exactly?"

"It is what you are," he replied, sitting up a little straighter, yet still keeping me in his lap. "You gave up your memories, wings and power to become the closest to a human an Angel can get."

"Why would I do that?" I asked stupidly, naïvely already knowing the answer.

"Because you let go," he whispered in that glass voice.

"…Fang…"

He didn't speak.

I hung my head in shame, staring down at his black t-shirt. "I… I can't…" Pressing my head to his shoulder, I kissed him on the neck and buried my face there. "I can't… say… how sorry I am." I didn't know why I was hesitating to talk. It was just a simple apology… almost forty years overdue.

A cold, familiar hand stroked my back gently. "I know… I know you are. But I can't endanger us further. Without you being at your full potential, I can't protect you if we show any weakness in… loving each other." By now, his voice was a faint whisper, as if he were choking on his words.

My head snapped up, and I pulled away from his grasp. "What? What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"I… can't show my love for you," he explained, overwhelming sadness in his voice. "The Fallen Angels… The Fallen Ones… If they saw my weaknesses and went after you, there would be nothing I could do about it. Until I can bring you to complete safety, I can't do… any of the things I've wanted to do to you for years."

I suddenly felt a heavy weight on my chest – guilt. "Fang… This is all my fault…" I said, pressing my face to his chest again. "I… shouldn't have been so… selfish."

"Selfish?" he repeated emptily. "You weren't being selfish… I was, _sweetie._" It almost seemed like he said _'Sweetie' _in every language I could understand – English, German, Japanese, Tagalog, Spanish… But how? Was I really that multi-lingual?

"…You? Selfish?" I tried to laugh, but failed. "How could _you _be selfish? You're the one risking your life to save my _ass._ You _can't _be selfish."

"…No. I told you… I told you I wanted more than a lifetime," he said in a low voice. "I told you that I wanted more than a lifetime to spend with you and that I'd give up _anything _to be with you. I should've just been content with a span of a human's life…" Fang began murmuring to himself, sounding extremely upset.

I sat up and stared at him angrily.

Then I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

He didn't even see it coming.

After I let the impact sink in for a moment, he turned his eyes back to me, speechless.

"Fuck you, Fang," I whispered, trying to hold back the tears.

"…What?" He was genuinely confused as the tears streaked my face. "Max, why are you… crying?" Fang brushed his hand across my face, wiping the tears, obviously not upset by my outburst.

I stared into his confused, worried, saddened, caring and loving obsidian eyes and made my decision in a heartbeat.

With a quick breath, I leaned in closer and forced my lips onto his, closing my eyes as our lips made contact. I shoved him onto the ground of the garden and tried to show all of the love and emotions I felt for him.

After a few heart-pounding moments, he began kissing back, making me feel all of the hidden feelings that he never showed before. I touched his cheek gently, trying to savor the moment and hope that this memory never disappeared from my mind.

It was all obvious now.

I was in love with Fang – and I had been for the past four-hundred years.

The thing is, he loved me back too.

When about three minutes passed of our little make-out session, I pulled away and sat up, turning my head to the side when I realized what I just did. I kind of sort of just forced myself onto him with no warning whatsoever. I felt blood rush to my face as he touched my cheek affectionately and kissed me again the lips, yet much gentler than I had been with him.

"Max…"

I glanced up a little hesitantly. "Fang?" His onyx eyes shone with appreciation, compassion and _love._ LOVE. There was _love _in his eyes!

"Thank you. I don't feel so alone anymore," he whispered, smiling softly. Shaking his head slowly, the smile on his face turned into a frown. "We mustn't do this, Max."

Rubbing a sore spot on my neck, trying to be nonchalant, I replied with an intellectual, "Huh?"

"_This._" He gestured to me sitting in his lap with my free hand clinging to his shoulder. I quickly pulled my hand away, but refused to leave him warm, loving body. "We can't."

"It's not that we _can't…_ You just… don't want to, do you?" I realized, staring up at him. His face was turned away guiltily. "Fang? You hate this… don't you…?"

"…Hate… is… a strong word," he murmured, leaning back on his palms.

"But you really, really, really don't like me, huh?" I continued, quoting the Plain White T's. "Was it something I did? Please tell me… because I want to make it up to you. I don't really understand everything just yet, but I want to help…"

Fang tried to smile, but he turned away. I could've sworn that I saw tears in his eyes. "I told you already, Max… You became a Lost Angel. And doing so made _everything _much more complicated."

I stared at him sadly and slid off his lap, trying to make myself comfortable on the grass. "So… what can I do? Is there anything I can do to make this right?" I whispered, feeling that guilt weigh my chest down again.

He slowly shook his head, scratching the back of his head. "…No. There is nothing you can do to change what has already been done, Max." He hung his head, his eyes still unable to meet mine. "I'm sorry."

Feeling unbearably shameful, I averted my eyes away from him and whispered, "Take me home."

I heard him shuffle around next to me and soon, his fingers were laced around mine comfortingly. "Okay," he muttered, pulling me close to him. "Close your eyes and relax." I let out a soft sigh and pressed my face to his chest, wishing that this moment could last forever.

(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)

Sitting up slowly, I rubbed my eyes and looked around, raising an eyebrow when I saw the sunset. My hands were touching sand, and I was positioned in a kneeling position on the ground. What more was that Fang's head was resting in my lap, his eyes still closed. I stared down at his unmoving body curiously and stroked his cheek as affectionately as I could without waking him up.

"Fang…" I said quietly, feeling tears well up in my eyes again. I hated to cry. I hated emotions. I always had, ever since I was little. Or maybe all this bitterness for feelings was due to the fact that I had hurt someone I loved dearly. Was that it? Was it because of what I did to Fang in our past lives make me feel… heartless?

Fang's eyes were now open and staring up at me worriedly. "Max?" he said in confusion. "What's wrong?"

I wiped my eyes hastily and turned away. "Sand in my eyes…" I glanced down at him, and he was obviously not fooled.

He smiled his infamous half-smile. "You were thinking again, weren't you?"

"…Yeah. You read me like an open book," I told him, trying to smile. "It's interesting though… Most people tell me that I'm hard to read."

"You're easy to read… You're awfully hard to understand though," Fang said, chuckling. He seemed to enjoy the position we were in. Maybe it was because he felt like he was the one who was being protected this time. That was a nice thought.

"I feel like you've said that before," I commented, lightly brushing my hand over his cheek.

"I probably have," he agreed. "I mean, we've been around for four hundred years, give or take. I must've said it a few times." I liked the fact that he said _we_.

I nodded and looked back up at the sunset, again hoping that nothing could ruin our love for each other and that Fang's wish that we could spend eternity together would come true. "Yeah. You're right."

He laughed and stared up for me for another moment before looking at the sunset from his position below me. "Lovely, isn't it?"

"Mmhm… Yeah. It's beautiful," I whispered. He lifted his hand up, and I laced our hands together, reveling in the moment. "I thought you said we couldn't be like this together."

"I say a lot of things I don't mean." His sentence was punctuated with a husky laugh.

"I see."

Fang shifted around uneasily below me, sighing gently. I squeezed his hand affectionately without taking my eyes off of the sunset, continuously praying to the Deity, God or whatever almighty being was up there, that these moments would last forever. I didn't want Fang to fight anymore. I didn't want him to get hurt or Iggy or Nudge or Mr. Valentine or anyone else who was trying to protect me.

The sunset we were watching was perfect.

There was absolutely nothing more I wanted than a peaceful life with Fang.

**(end of chapter fifteen)**

A bit anti-climactic, but I liked it. I thought it was sweet.

I threw in a Fax kiss there and the little beach scene. At first, I was going to bring them home and continue the story without the beach scene, but I thought it would be nicer to have this moment with them. The next chapter will have a lot more content in the sense that this was more of a relationship-development than a plot-development chapter.

Hope you liked it!

**READ+REVIEW=UPDATES!**

You know what to do when I update. Reviews give me the drive to update! YEAH! GO CANADA! (Even though I'm from the U.S.)

Thanks to all your reviewers, alerters and favoriters. You guys make my day whenever I check my email and see new and old followers!

-SKETCH

**Thank You: **to **Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute** for the beta. You know who you are.


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